Works by David Malasa (1987-2019) express a strong sense of urgency and a burning desire to create art everywhere, at any given moment: on found paper, Social Security and tax-income forms, canvases, cardboards and anything else available. For Malasa, the whole world served as a creative platform. The title of the exhibition “Caveman” refers to the nickname, given to him by his family members as a joke, for refusing to use a smartphone. This nickname was charged with additional meaning when Malasa expanded his quest for quiet isolation – alone in a cave: drawing, writing, playing, creating animation.
His parents immigrated from Ethiopia, and their first years were spent in Gush Katif. When he turned two, they moved to Jessy Cohen, where Malasa resided until his military service. After his service, he traveled abroad, and later moved to the North of Israel, where he studied animation at Tel-Hai College. After his graduation he continued to live there, until his tragic death at 32.
Malasa’s life course has sharpened his abilities and his connection to the themes that are present in the show: family members, musicians, men and women, most of whom are of African descent. Exploring these themes also expressed his desire to place them in the cultural sphere and in the art world – a desire that links his works with a broad movement of artists who place their biography and identity at the forefront of their creation.
As an addition to his paintings and drawings, Malasa also created animation works which expanded his practice. They are exhibited as a collection of short films, showcasing his sense of humor, abundant imagination and his strong connection to music. In these works, one can find a robot that bursts into a dance with a mirror-ball, Erykah Badu, singing from a screen full of flowers, a smoking rasta-man and an exploding bird. All of which express his complex inner world, and his ability to engage with any possible subject matter.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
