About to Be Playing Cards (2020)

About to Be Playing Cards began as a continuation of a small self-initiated project I started while living in Berlin. At the time, I created illustrated playing cards featuring my drawings as a way to promote my work. I printed and sold them locally, and they became a recognizable object connected to my practice.

When COVID began, I was no longer in Berlin. I found myself in Tel Aviv, staying at my parents-in-law’s apartment and without a permanent studio or workspace. During that period, someone reached out asking if I still had any of the playing cards available. I didn’t—but the request sparked the idea of creating a new edition.

I decided to redraw the entire deck. Since a full deck required 14 illustrations, I approached the project as a complete series rather than individual drawings. Because I was already committing to drawing all 14 characters, I chose to make them larger and more detailed than before.

Most of the drawings were made at a neighborhood coffee shop in Tel Aviv called Tahtit (תחתית). I went there almost every morning and worked from one of the tables, drawing human–animal figures using blue pen on white paper. Working in a public space became an important part of the process. People sitting nearby often reacted to the drawings, commented, or asked questions. During that time, the café functioned as a temporary studio and a daily workspace.

The characters were imagined specifically as playing cards. Rather than starting with strict symbolism, I assigned figures intuitively—some drawings “felt” like certain numbers. The intention was to create a playful and humorous deck that referenced games, childhood, and everyday joy.

After completing the series, the drawings were printed both as a full deck of playing cards and as large-format works. The series was exhibited as part of an event we created during COVID called Drivin’ Jazz. More on that project will be shared in a separate post.

The deck later sold out. Years later, people still tell me they are actively playing with them, which feels like a natural extension of what the project was meant to be.