Some of the structures featured in the exhibition are an amalgamation of a church, a mosque, and a synagogue, while others constitute a dark, industrial urban landscape. Adoni’s work, however, centers on the formal qualities of the buildings rather than on their identity. The schematic structures resemble models, and appear as an enigmatic landscape immersed in black and surrounded by a glowing halo. They provoke a sense of awe not only due to the symbolic resonance of their architectural forms, but also due to their presentation as backlit silhouettes. The absence of details lends the buildings a quality defined by Freud as “uncanny,” heightening the sense of dread.

Adoni’s “shadow theater” has a long aesthetic tradition, ranging from shadow plays to Expressionist films and film noir. His work seems to center on conflicts that cannot be mitigated, and is imbued with the sense of an impending apocalyptic catastrophe.

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