Upside Down Gallery is commissioning local Los Angeles artists to reflect on the deep darkness that existed before the beginning of time. The concept of “Formless and Void” (תהו ובהו) comes from the first page of the Torah, and it refers to the state of primordial chaos before creation. The vision is to depict the deep darkness of the chaos permeating our world as a way of memorializing the atrocities of October 7 and the tragedies that followed. War and destruction are acts of “de-creation”. Why does God permit these acts of de-creation, allowing the world to slide back into chaos?

Within the reality of this darkness is the suggestion that even in that primordial state of chaos, the universe was pregnant with potential for new life and creation. Out of that space of nothingness came everything. The suggestion is that out of death, new life may come.

Upside Down invites artists to submit qualifications for this upcoming art exhibition. Selected artists will receive an honorarium up to $1000.

The exhibition will run from October 19th to December 13th, 2024 with an opening reception. 

More information at upsidedown.com/formless-and-void