Somewhere Over

Jerusalem Design Week 2024 | September 19-26, 2024 | Hansen House
Created by Lila Chitayat & Ofer Katz

Stowed away on the ark, at the mercy of the storming waves and surrounded by darkness, Noah releases the dove out of a small hatch. Throughout the nerve-racking wait for the flood’s end, the wide horizon serves as a backdrop for the relationship between sea and sky; between hope and emergency routine; between expectation and disappointment.

In Israel today, where the limits of our ark grow smaller with every day, the hatch provides a chance to view a personal, social and collective horizon of our own, which maintains the same anticipation for the ‘day after’.

The Concept

“Somewhere Over” (אי-שם מעבר) was created for Jerusalem Design Week 2024 under the annual theme “The Ark,” addressing crisis, survival, and hope. The installation presented the ark not as a physical vessel, but as a mental space of hope during times of uncertainty.

Visitors were invited to look through a system of optical and digital periscopes. Instead of seeing the immediate reality of Hansen House’s courtyard, viewers discovered an infinite, dynamic sea horizon – where sky (spirit and hope) meets water (storm and reality).

The Interactive Experience

The installation created a sensation of “peeking out” from a closed, protected space. It combined physical components with video projections to create an illusion of open space, challenging visitors’ perception of place and time. The periscope served as a symbol of the hatch Noah opened to release the dove – a gesture of hope and anticipation.

In a period where “the boundaries of our ark are shrinking daily,” the project sought to create a space of routine within emergency, blurring the line between physical reality and digital imagery.

After the Flood

Following Jerusalem Design Week, “Somewhere Over” was selected for the continuation exhibition “After the Flood” at Hansen House, displayed through December 2024.

Read more in Haaretz – Article by Naama Riva