Text and photos by Lydia Aisenberg
The longest piece of graffiti hip-hop art in Israel adorns the once drab outer 6-meter-high concrete wall of a soccer stadium, situated on the main road, and southern entrance, to the Druze village of Dalyat HaCarmel.
The work of Tel Aviv-based artist Dudi Shoval, the wall comprises a collection of panels overflowing with blazing colors and eclectic artistic content, a definite instant winner for the home-side, if not a somewhat in-your-face greeting for visiting teams.
The guests' ticket-office window, and the blue sign designating it as such, sit comfortably in a Shoval-created panel of two hands forming a heart – very much in keeping with Dudi Shoval's activities with the creative OneLove movement. The heart expresses a deep-felt message that Dalyat HaCarmel residents wish to extend to their visitors - whether they be soccer fans or folks coming to walk around the colorful shops and tasty restaurants, both there and in the neighboring Druze village of Ussifiya, also in the Carmel mountain range.
A pair of enormous, multi-feathered wings with a halo on high is proving to be a must-stop photo-opportunity for passers-by intent on trying out the wings for size and comfort. A gigantic masked face of a helmeted biker-type character is also a big draw for a shot.
Most of those posing sported far less attractive masks during the corona period than that worn by Shoval's head-and-shoulders character, with a wise owl perched on her shoulder for good measure.