born in Israel, 1976
lives and works in Tel Aviv

An Eiffel Tour in Haifa?! Mia Gourvitch creates an absurd street sign, which poses as a real sign, and is placed in the entrance plaza of the museum. In doing this, she tries to examine urban and civic questions: Are street signs meant to be read? Who, if anyone, wants us to read urban information? Through something that pretends momentarily to be a standard sign that one  ncounters in the streets of the city, Gourvitch challenges the innocent passersby and forces them to become alert viewers and/or residents with civic awareness. In order to create this confusing reality, she uses one of the most familiar images in the world and appropriates it for a double situation of readymade - an urban sign and a tower that is the distinctive symbol of another city.

A few words about the Eiffel Tower, which one can find in any tour book: It was built in honor of the Paris World Fair of 1889, marking the centennial of the French Revolution. For years, it was a hated eyesore in the urban landscape until it became a government radio station and was thus rescued from being dismantled. Today it is one of the icons of Paris and one of the most popular tourist sites in the world. Gourvitch chose to purchase the image appearing here via the Internet, as a readymade image. While using it, she creates a minor disturbance in the urban landscape.