Ella Ponizovsky Bergelson was born in Moscow, immigrated to Israel in 1991, grew up in Jerusalem and currently lives in Berlin. She speaks, reads and writes several languages. Her own hybrid identity drives her to explore cultural self-definition in individuals and in communities. In her work she explores manifestation of migration and integration processes through text and the visualisation of language.
Human nature tends to demand cultural uniformity and unequivocal self-definition. However, many cultural identities are more complex. Given political shifts around the world, and the reality of globalisation, a unified identity is increasingly rare. It is actually fluid, flexible and multifaceted. Language and typography are defining elements of a culture. By using strict set of rules, they indicate the undisputed nature of it, both in content and visual form. Ella’s calligraphy contradicts the rigidity often ascribed to language, by using diverse typography styles in different languages, to create a hybrid outcome: the co-existence of multiple identities in a unified artwork.
The fact she studied typography and design in two multicultural and multilingual worlds; Jerusalem (BAAD) and New York (SVA), played a key role in the formation of her artistic path. A significant part of her activity is in the public space of the diverse surroundings she passes. She creates site-specific hybrid calligraphy murals in public locations, such as Mensch Meier, ZK/U, Kindl Brauerei (Berlin) and JCC East Bay (Berkeley, California). Ella’s solo exhibition “Order” (2017, Almacén Gallery, Tel Aviv Jaffa) was her first artistic extensive research of hybrid identity through language and calligraphy. Her ink on paper and print works took part in exhibitions at The Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Culture, Jaffa Museum, The Red House Gallery, Mazeh 9 Gallery (Israel), The Altes Rathaus Marzahn (Berlin), BB Galeria (Krakow) and more. Her work was included in the Klingspor Museum (Germany) collection. Among other locations, she held hybrid calligraphy workshops in Akademie der Künste and Haus für Poesie (Berlin).