Dede is the art name of an Israeli graffiti artist who began displaying works on the streets of Tel Aviv in 2006. Also known as ''Dede Bandaid'', Dede’s work is well known for his widespread use of images of band-aids.

Biography

Dede was born and raised in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He was first exposed to graffiti art in his youth and at the age of 13 spray-painted a map of the Milky Way galaxy on the walls of his school. During his military service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, Dede began doing graffiti which included visual messages that were implicitly anti-establishment. These included childlike soldiers making soap bubbles, as well as policemen wearing ballerina outfits. After his release from the army, Dede often sprayed stencils of peace doves, large mutant animals, architecture etc. as a way of communicating social and political ideas. Finding inspiration in current day issues, Dede began, in 2008, to reflect on contemporary events in Israel. Such were

2011 Israeli social justice protests The 2011 Israeli social justice protests ( he, מְחָאַת צֶדֶק חֶבְרָתִי), which are also referred to by various other names in the media, were a series of demonstrations in Israel beginning in July 2011 involving hundreds of ...

, the

Israeli housing crisis Housing in Israel refers to the history of housing in Israel. History After the establishment of the State of Israel, hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over the world began immigrating to the new state. Many were housed in temporary camps kno ...

Crony capitalism Crony capitalism, sometimes called cronyism, is an economic system in which businesses thrive not as a result of free enterprise, but rather as a return on money amassed through collusion between a business class and the political class. This is ...

and

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

. Dede’s works are mostly displayed in the public realm though he avoids pure acts of vandalism. Dede began displaying his work in Israeli galleries and museums in 2009 including Kishon Gallery, Alfred Gallery, P8, Tzadik Gallery, Zemack Gallery, Fresh Paint Art Fair, Ein-Hod Museum, Haifa Museum and more. He has also shown in galleries in Switzerland, Italy, France, New York, Germany and others.

Work

Dede’s early work entailed widespread stencil use. He has evolved in his style to free-style drawing and wheat pasting. A recurring theme in his work is the band-aid. The reason for Dede’s repeated use of the band-aid is unclear, and the artist himself has avoided giving it a precise meaning. Dede gained much public attention for using large-scale elements in the public arena, turning them to iconic pieces of art, as if pointing at a relevant social or current affair for the public to pay attention to. Such examples were turning one of the

Ayalon Highway Ayalon ( he, אַיָּלוֹן, איילון, ‘place of deer’) is the name of an Israeli placename and a Hebrew family name. It is the modern transliteration of Ajalon. It is derived from ( ‘deer’). It may refer to the following: Places * ...

intersections into a Yellow Submarine (album); turning an abandoned part of bridge into a cloth-pin; and turning a big empty parking lot into a missile target during the

2014 Israel-Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...

. One of Dede's unique artworks which has attracted special attention was at the abandoned Dulphinarium in Tel-Aviv, notoriously known for the

Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing On 1 June 2001, a Hamas-affiliated Islamist terrorist blew himself up outside the Dolphinarium discotheque on the beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 Israelis, 16 of whom were teenagers. The majority of the victims were Israeli teenage ...

, turning the sea-facing front of the structure into a

Chattery Teeth Chattering teeth, sometimes called chattery teeth, are a wind-up toy invented by Eddy Goldfarb. Originally named "Yakity Yak Talking Teeth", Goldfarb and Marvin Glass sold it to novelty company H. Fishlove & Co. who released it in 1949. Chatterin ...

, possibly being the biggest illegal piece of art in Israel.

Gallery

Image:Dede Wind Up Teeth.jpg, Original artwork by Dede at the abandoned Dolphinarium, Tel-Aviv, 2015. Image:Dede target.png, Original artwork by Dede in south Tel-Aviv, 2014. Image:Dede yellow submarine.jpg, Original artwork by Dede at Ayalon river, Tel-Aviv, 2013. Image:Bandaids.jpg, Original artwork painted on wall, Tel-Aviv, 2015. Image:Dede Safety Lodz 2016.jpg, Original artwork painted on wall, Lodz, Poland, 2016. Image:Dede The Promised Land 2015.jpg, Original artwork painted on wall, Tel-Aviv, 2015.

Bibliography

* Rojo, Jaime, and Harrigton, Steven
"The New Face of Tel Aviv Street Art"
Huffington Post, 24/4/2013. * Briggs, Gemma. "If Walls Could Talk", Time Out Israel, August 2011. * Lanir, Tal (Ed.), "Street Art Israel", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 2011. * Merom, Hagai, "Tel Aviv's Graffiti Underground", Halfi Publishing House, Tel Aviv, 2011

References

External links