The Neve Shaanan district of Tel Aviv was conceived as a menorah, that still can be seen on the map of the district, but Tahana Merkazit (central bus station) appeared in the place of the second half of the menorah. When the station was opened in 1993, a white balloon in the form of an elephant was launched into the sky, which became the symbol of Tahana Merkazit, as if predicting the future of the building. The white elephant is an English idiom. It means some expensive property that the owner is forced to maintain but does not receive any benefit from it in return. Due to construction errors, the station became semi-abandoned. Illegal immigrants from Africa and drug addicts live on the lower floors as well as a colony of bats. For many years, the government has been unable to decide what to do with the station, which now lives its own strange life.
The White Elephant
Margarita Gusak & Asya Bobritskaya, 1×1,5, 2023
Rita did not work with contemporary art, it was a new field for her, but as always she took up the task with great determination! Of course, she was surprised and a little shocked that the exhibition would not take place in a beautiful hall, but in fact on the ruins of the building.
Despite the heat (the exhibition was held in August), a lot of people came, Rita told everyone about our work. It was important to her that our work was in the spotlight. Many people wrote to me that our work was the most memorable at the exhibition