Spotlight for the Adama Exhibition: Yochi Dayan

Yochi Dayan, age 80, has lived in Moshav Dekel since its founding in 1982, after being evacuated from the city of Yamit. She holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and a doctorate in comparative literature. Yochi taught and educated for many years — first at the Kibbutz Yavneh high school, and later in Be’eri and in the Eshkol Regional Council. A textile artist, Yochi combines many techniques in her work: cutting and joining fabrics with a sewing machine, appliqué, fabric dyeing, hand embroidery, fabric origami, and free-motion machine stitching. Her works possess a physical, tactile quality that invites viewers to approach and touch them, as if they were familiar household objects. Indeed, many resemble traditional quilts — delicate yet powerful, personal yet universal. Yochi elevates this traditional female craft, which often lacks full artistic recognition, to the level of fine art through her skilled, confident hand and the emotional depth of each piece. Yochi has been deeply intertwined with the growth and flourishing of Israeli culture, with all its complexity. As a resident of the Gaza Envelope, she lost friends, neighbors, and students in the events of October 7th and witnessed the destruction of her community’s human and cultural fabric — an experience reflected in her work. Her piece “And the Crooked Shall Be Made Straight” was created about a decade before the war and depicts the pioneering development of the region — from sand dunes to thriving agricultural farms. Since the war, many viewers have come to see in it a depiction of chaos and destruction alongside a hope for renewal — a new layer of meaning that emerged through tragedy. In “Stunned Silence,” Yochi expresses the shock and quiet that accompany the still photographs of Be’eri after the loss. The work is dedicated to the young children of the kibbutz whose innocence was violated and who are no longer here. The sturdy foundational pillars of kibbutz ideology come together to form the word “טבח” (“massacre”), dividing the composition into smaller spaces reminiscent of a private courtyard or a corner of a kibbutz. On closer inspection, one discovers signs of loss. In the “What Happened to Chanaleh’s Shabbat Dress?” series, Yochi draws inspiration from the beloved Israeli children’s story centered on acts of kindness and their cultural connection to Judaism. In this series, we see only the dress — not the girl — which leaves us wondering about her fate. Gradually, the dress becomes stained, echoing the fate of mothers in this land. In the final image, the dress hangs on a hanger after the mother’s death. Yochi’s art resonates with the Israeli story — tenderness, pain, resilience, and faith — thread by thread, layer upon layer of life.