In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love and of sexual desire, whereas Thanatos is the personification of death. Both are represented in art as attractive young men.
According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, man’s two main impulses are Eros - the sex drive and the representation of life, as opposed to Thanatos - the fate of death and the aggression drive.
These two impulses are in a constant conflict.
In the Eros & Thanatos project, Yechiely combined these two different aspects, using a modern and more local approach:
The 17-18 year old boys represent Eros, young and beautiful yet naive, a step away from joining the military forces for a three years’ service, which is mandatory in Israel.
The military represent Thanatos, its main purpose being violence, aggression and destruction. It takes those young and naive boys (Eros) and fills them with new ideals while fulfilling their dormant urge for self-destruction (Thanatos).
“Eros”
“The Crying Soldier”
“The Victim”
“Groundsels Field”
“7.62X51mm NATO”
“The Awakening”
“The Officer”
“Exposed #1”
“Exposed #2”
