Asaf Setty born in Israel, 1975
lives and works in Tel Aviv


Asaf Setty created safety signs that look real. The ten signs he displays in the exhibition are based on the booklet "Instructions for Behavior in Emergency Situations for Museum Employees," which was published by the Association of Museums and ICOM Israel. The booklet includes an introduction by Idit Amichai: "The Museum - A Place of Safeguarding and Preserving." Setty found the texts on the Internet.

The readymade dimension in his work is evident, first of all, in the visibility of the signs and, of course, in their terrifying content, as well as in what Setty calls "the presence of the verbal object." That is, assuming that even when the viewers/readers realize that it is a work of art and not a "real" safety sign, the text stirs trepidation in them but also reminds them of their place in the museum setting. The viewers are also likely to discover that they themselves are part of the art show and find themselves amused. And since they are already seen as art, the signs can be subjected to formalistic analysis, as if they were conceptual art: red and blue letters on a white surface, conceptual lines of text, and a classical picture format of 84 x 120 centimeters.