Je t’aime, Ronit Elkabetz

״I truly believe clothes have a spirit and a soul, so it’s important to me to care for them and then let them go when the time comes. After they have traveled a long way with me, I allow them to continue like a story or a film that needs to go on with its life.״
Ronit Elkabetz

Ronit Elkabetz (1964-2016) was an Israeli and international icon, actress, screenwriter, and director. She was a social activist for women's rights, particularly Mizrahi women, and an artist's muse. In her work, she combined center and periphery, fashion and art, Be'er Sheva, Kiryat Yam and Tel Aviv with Mogador and Paris, Israel and the world, creating characters that have been etched onto social and cultural consciousness.

The exhibition Je t'aime, Ronit Elkabetz grew from researching Ronit Elkabetz's wardrobe. The collection, comprising upwards of 500 items meticulously collected and stored in Tel Aviv and Paris over four decades, was donated generously by the Yashar and Elkabetz families. The meticulous research into the items revealed a time capsule encompassing Elkabetz's life, allowing us a profound and rich look into her existence in dialogue with the world of cinema. Every garment contains a story, a memory, an attribution.

The exhibition was a testament to the transformative power of fashion. It invited viewers into a lucid dream following Ronit Elkabetz. The beautiful collection of garments she left behind has been reborn in the form of 90 ensembles, reassembled into scenes that combined her clothes, sets and sound design, video art, and requisites, alongside the cinematic, theatrical, and artistic productions that were the cornerstones of her biography. This exhibition was a celebration of Elkabetz's unique ability to blend fashion and art and a testament to the enduring influence of her work.

Garments in the exhibition signify the world Elkabetz created, visualizing and fostering otherness to create new standards – to illuminate the other and make it visible and unforgettable. Elkabetz was simultaneously far from the fashion world and at its center, creating new objects for the gaze. Under her hands, dress became a living performance, simultaneously representing how we are viewed and how we view ourselves. Ronit Elkabetz's glittering ability to formulate dreams, identity, and power through cloth was and continues to inspire women and men everywhere.