Israel has displayed ancient human bones and stuffed animals in mortuary-style stainless steel cabinets at the Venice Architecture Biennale to explore the impact of the country's agricultural history.
Called Land. Milk. Honey, the exhibition takes its name from the Promised Land, a biblical reference to Israel where it is described as "a land flowing with milk and honey".
The Israel Pavilion features animal artefacts
Land. Milk. Honey comprises a group of stainless steel cabinets filled with a collection of taxidermy, bones and skulls borrowed from the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University.
This includes the remains of a woman who died in the Hula Valley some 14,500 years ago and was buried along with a dog. Combined with explanatory archival photography, video works and an immersive sound installation, the artefacts represent how agricultural developments in Israel have threatened the local habitat and communities.
The display includes human remains of a person that died 14,500 years ago
"Our goal was to produce an exhibition that is both research-based and sensorial ? a world containing architectural objects, installations and the natural elements of plants and animals," co-curator Dan Hasson told Dezeen.
"Together, the works present the tension between nature and the man-made."
Israel is a major exporter of agriculture products and technologies, despite a Mediterranean climate that produces hot and dry summers that can...