Eyal Segal, Deluge #2, Oil on canvas, 150×150 cm, 2023

We are pleased to present DELUGE, a solo exhibition by Israeli artist Eyal Segal. This marks his first exhibition at LOKO GALLERY in seven years, following his debut solo show in Japan, GROUND LEVEL, in 2018.
Born in 1982 in Arad, Israel, Segal has German and Indian roots. He studied at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Tel Aviv and previously served as the studio director for renowned video artist Sigalit Landau.
This exhibition presents a mixed-media installation featuring several video works, including LEVIATHAN (2021), filmed in the Kasukabe Underground Flood Protection Tank in Saitama, Japan, which was showcased at the latest Tel Aviv Biennale and received international recognition.
Alongside it, Segal presents his latest video performance and a new series of large- and small-scale paintings of the sea, both titled DELUGE.
Filmed at the end of summer 2023, DELUGE takes its title from the concept of a “great flood.” In the video, Segal moves in a circular path across a field, his motion resembling a prayer—wandering through the currents of fate while seeking to avoid impending catastrophe.
Exactly one month after the release of this work, on October 7, the world witnessed the shocking terrorist attack known as the “Al-Aqsa Flood.” The unintended coincidence of these events imbued this work with profound new layers of meaning.
Along with the paintings of the sea, which suggest uncertainty, this exhibition encourages the viewer to interpret its themes in a variety of ways.

 

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DELUGE \ Eyal Segal

 

To exhibit is to create a moment—a space where time slows, where images and ideas resonate beyond their physical forms. An exhibition is not merely a collection of works but a temporary constellation, a dialogue between what is presented, the space that contains it, and the individuals who experience it.

In today’s rapidly shifting world, both internally and externally, we are confronted with instability, uncertainty, and a heightened awareness of our collective vulnerability. The global landscape has undergone a profound transformation, retreating from openness toward a more enclosed, nationalistic stance. Wars and prolonged conflicts have become normalized, and unsettling events remind us of the precarious state of global security. In Israel, a country historically accustomed to upheaval, these challenges feel particularly acute. Against this backdrop, the act of exhibiting takes on new significance—not as a direct political statement but as a reflection on the role of time, space, and perception in moments of uncertainty.

The works in this exhibition revolve around cycles—of movement, of water, of time.
The central video piece LEVIATHAN unfolds in an underground water reservoir in Japan (Kasukabe Underground Flood Protection Tank, Saitama) used for the collection of flood water. The video is divided into three chapters and three days, which parallel states of escape, survival, and prophecy. Running through the depths, the artist’s figure appears to have been swallowed by its loneliness deep within the unconscious, repeating the same actions in an endless loop. The tragic figure of the Prophet Jonah inspired this work and serves as its main axis. The architectural labyrinth serves as a “tomb” or “womb,” a primeval sphere that enables flight yet does not provide a respite.

The video piece, DELUGE, captures a figure in continuous rotation, a motion both infinite and constrained. The sound, composed by Yitzhak Shushan, reinforces this sense of suspended rhythm, where time is both measured and elusive. The circle—a recurring motif—evokes clocks, rituals, and the unspoken rules that govern change, return, and expectation.

Alongside the video, large and small-scale paintings depict the sea—frames of shifting waves, half-abstract and half-real, devoid of human presence. These images do not document reality but rather suggest possibilities, inviting contemplation on presence and absence, on the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

In the Japanese concept of 間 (MA), emptiness is not merely a void but a profound, meaningful interval—a pause between moments, a space where perception shifts, and transformation unfolds. In many ways, an exhibition embodies MA—the silent gaps between the artworks, between the viewer and the work, between the past, the present, and what has yet to come. It is not just about the content but also about what lies in between: the quiet rhythm of stillness, the unsaid, and the anticipation of revelation.

To exhibit is to acknowledge the impermanence of existence. The installation arises briefly, then fades, leaving only echoes. Yet, in that fleeting moment, a new space is created—a space where viewers step away from the relentless flow of everyday life and enter a different rhythm. It is a moment to reflect, to immerse, to pause between past and future, and to consider the meaning of what remains.

Through a series of large and small-scale paintings, each depicting ‘sea frames,’ I present a striking juxtaposition of half-abstract and half-realistic compositions, devoid of human figures. These paintings serve as visual metaphors for the tumultuous waves of emotion and uncertainty that engulf our collective consciousness in times of adversity. This exploration transitions seamlessly from questioning the looming Deluge to depicting emotional turbulence through art, resonating with the timeless human quest for meaning and foresight amidst the chaos of our world. Yet, in confronting these uncertainties, we are compelled to face our shared vulnerability and resilience, acknowledging our common humanity.

 

Still Frame from ‘Deluge’, 2023, HD-Video Performance, 72’00”

Still Frame from ‘LEVIATHAN’, 2020, HD-Video Performance, 25’00

 

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Eyal Segal – CV

Born in Arad, Israel (1982), lives and works in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

Selected Exhibtions & Projects:
2025 ‘DELUGE‘, Solo Exhibition, LOKO GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan.
2024 Gjon Mili International Video Art Festival, Gjon Mili Museum, Korca, Albania.
2023 “What Is the Measure of Man?” 2nd Tel Aviv Biennale, MUSA, the Eretz Israel Museum, Curators: T. Sapir, N. Haramat, H. Eliezer Brunner
2022 RAKFAF22 #10th Annual Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, The United Arab Emirates. ‘Longing Be-longing’, curator: Sharon Toval
2021 Video installation. A-Ganre Festival, TMUNA Theater, Tel Aviv, Curators: Nitzan Cohen, Erez Maayan Shalev
2021 LINE IN THE SAND, Solo Exhibition, THE LAB Project space, curator: Sharon Toval
2021 RAKFAF21 #9th Annual Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, The United Arab Emirates. . ‘hope’, curator: Sharon Toval
2020 Art of sustainability, 50th exhibition of the Group Global 3000, Berlin. Germany.
2020 On Art. Video Festival, Zaczarowany ogród, Warsaw, Poland.
2020 LEVIATHAN, Solo Exhibition, Schechter Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel. Curator: Shira Friedman
2019 Abs.: kunstort ELEVEN artspace, Reutlingen Art Museum, Reutlingen, Germany. Curators: Monika Golla, Frank Fierke.
2019 The Spirit of the Poet, Zentrum für verfolgte Künste | Center for Persecuted Arts, Solingen, Germany. Curator: Jürgen Kaumkötter
2019 MR.MOV2, Video Art Festival, Brescia, Italy
2018 Video Art Miden Festival, Kalamata, Greece. Curators: Gioula Papadopoulou, Margarita Stavraki
2018 707070 – Israeli Art in Santa Barbara, SBCAST (Center for Art, Science & Technology), Santa Barbara, USA. Curator: Sagi Refael
2018 ‘Ground Level‘, Solo Exhibition, LOKO GALLERY | Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, Tokyo, Japan.
2017 ‘AVAF’ – Addis Video Art Festival, 2nd Edition International Video Art Festival, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2017 ‘Citizens’, Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Petach Tikva, Israel. Curator: Neta Gal-Azmon
2017 ‘Arad: From Vision to Delusion – Chapter 1’, Arad Contemporary Art Center. Curator: Hadas Kedar
2016 ‘VORORT 2 draußen’, International Artist Symposium, Starzach-Börstingen, Germany
2016 ‘FAÇADE VIDEO FESTIVAL’, Center for Contemporary Art – Plovdiv, The Ancient Bath, Bulgaria
2016 ‘(Dis)Place’, Ashdod Art Museum. Ashdod, Israel. Curators: Yuval Beaton and Roni Cohen-Binyamini
2015 ‘Screening Project: Dongshi Sangyoung’, Jujube Artists Studio, Seoul, South Korea, Curator: Jeongeun Kim
2015 ‘Release: Return’, Solo Exhibition, FUGA budapest center of architecture, Budapest, Curator: Lili Boros
2015 ‘Waterscapes: The Politics of Water’, Pohang Museum of Steel Art, Pohang, South Korea. Curator: Hyewon Lee
2014 ‘Waterscapes: The Politics of Water’, The Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea. Curator: Hyewon Lee
2014 ‘VIDEOHOLICA 7’, Varna, Bulgaria. Curators: Iara Boubnova, Antonio Geusa, Leung Mee-ping, Jason Waite
2013 ‘Quarantine’, Hansen Center, Jerusalem. Curator: Neta Gal-Azmon
2013 ‘Falling into Place’, Solo Exhibition, The Negev Museum of Art, Beer Sheva. Curator: Dr. Dalia Manor

Awards:

2022 Hamburg Film Awards festival, *Award for BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM, Hamburg, Germany
2021 WILD OUT VIDEO FESTIVAL, Taipei Taiwan. LEVIATHAN – *Award winner: THE MOST REPRESENTED VIDEO of this year
2021 World Film Carnival – Singapore (WFCS) *Award Winner – at the 22nd season of WFCS-Outstanding Achievement Award.
2020 ‘Came in time’ – Exhibition grant / ‘LEVIATHAN’, by the Department of the Arts & Culture, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation for the Tel Aviv Arts
2020 ‘Sand Timer’ Award (2# place) Best Video Art. On Art. Video Festival, Poland.
2016 FAÇADE Video Festival, Center for Contemporary Art – Plovdiv, Bulgaria – Top 10 selected video works
2015 Israel National Lottery Council for the Arts’ Grant for an Online catalogue – Release: Return
2009 The Yitzhak Rabin Center – The Shenkar Project Winning Poster for the 14th memorial day

Artist WEBsite：eyalsegal.com

 

ARTIST PROFILE: Eyal Segal