An Israeli multimedia artist whose work explores cultural identity, heritage, and technological transformation, Dor Zlekha Levy told The AJN that he is more than an artist, he’s a communicator and educator.
“Communicating my ideas is part of my understanding of the world,” Zlekha Levy said over Zoom from Israel ahead of his immersive and deeply moving exhibition, Recollections, arriving in Sydney to coincide with Vivid. “Most of my projects are collaborations, and I work a lot with existing memories. It’s just my way of directing myself to those places that interest me and taking actual part in them, not just speaking about them or hearing about them, really going into it.”
Zlekha Levy was born to Iraqi-Jewish parents in Israel, and his art often reflects the tension between his Middle Eastern roots and contemporary Western contexts, creating a rich dialogue between past and present. For Shalom Collective, the organisation partnering with Zlehka Levy to bring his exhibitions to Sydney, Recollections is all part of illuminating Sephardi and Mizrahi voices.
Zlekha Levy’s artistic practice spans multiple media, including video installations, sound art, digital manipulations, and sculpture. His work is particularly known for its exploration of historical audio recordings, especially those that represent the musical heritage of Jewish-Arab communities. By manipulating these recordings digitally, Zlekha Levy creates immersive experiences that challenge viewers to reconsider cultural narratives and identity formation.
For Recollections, he’ll be exhibiting three works – Maqamat (2017, in collaboration with Aviad Zinemanas), which revives the lost sounds of Jewish Iraqi musicians, Shomer (2019) which reimagines the historic Magen Avraham Synagogue in Beirut and Omek-Umk (2021), exploring language, memory, and cultural hybridity.
“Maqamat is a project that kind of defines who I am, and it’s connected to the history of my family, but also to the broader context and questions,” Zlekha Levy said when asked how he chose the three artworks he is bringing to Sydney. “I have experience of presenting it abroad, and I know its abilities and powers. I felt comfortable to push it, because I know, I have this feeling of what it can do, and also in terms of experience – it’s this black box – I think it’s right.”
Zlekha Levy said the works he’s bringing to Sydney aren’t fully interactive like others he has done in the past. Rather, they draw and encourage individual experiences with the space and the visuals.
“What I’m going to show in Sydney is mostly audiovisual. It’s not activated by the movement of the viewer in terms of interaction, but it does matter where and when you stand and what you hear,” he explained. “The main part of the show is very dark, with white projections, and this black space that you go into, a sort of black box, and these memories that come and go, and the sounds that turn all around. I want to take people there with me, to the space where they can reflect and experience in a way that they don’t necessarily experience or connect with in their daily life, to create this little transformation inside them.”
Zlekha Levy said while audiences can certainly understand his work through reading, to truly experience it you need to be immersed in it. “It’s more about how the information is experienced, and what it does to your body, soul, heart, mind.”
Zlekha Levy also explained that it’s the word memory that connects the three artworks. As he said, it’s the exploration of memory through sounds and language.
“I think there’s this longing for a different time where cultures, languages, music, were connecting in ways that it looks like it’s two distant sides, but they echo inside us, right?” he said. “We know it’s connected, but we don’t feel that necessarily in our day-to-day life, especially if you live here, but this longing for this, this meeting point. So it’s a bit sad or melancholic, but it’s also very deep.”
Zlekha Levy has exhibited his work internationally at prestigious venues including the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and various European institutions. His art has been recognised for its innovative approach to cultural memory and its technical sophistication in blending traditional elements with contemporary digital techniques.
And he said he appreciates how Shalom Collective and many other Jewish institutions around the world are embracing and sharing stories with Sephardi and Mizrahi heritage.
“I see a growing interest in telling those stories,” he said. It’s certainly something that Shalom Collective is focusing on at the moment.
“For too long, the voices and stories of Jews from Arab lands have been underrepresented in Jewish cultural discourse,” Rabbi Alon Meltzer, Director of Programs at Shalom Collective said. “Recollections is a vital opportunity to explore and celebrate these histories – where heritage, memory, and contemporary art intersect.”
Zlekha Levy said he’s most looking forward also to hearing from visitors and sharing the experience with those who come to see the exhibition. Explaining that it’s not merely a matter of taking an existing work and delivering it to a different context, Zlekha Levy said it’s more about seeing the works reflected in those who see it.
“I’m hoping that people take their time to experience my work, and then be generous enough to share with me their experience and story, so it echoes within them.”
Recollections is at forumprojects Gallery, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct from May 20 – June 15. More information.
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