Art heals — The Incredible Story of Team Bandaid
The launch of the inaugural Desperate ApeWives artist collaboration drop is fast approaching and will feature five works of art by different talented artists that we will highlight over the coming days.
The DAW community may recognize the name of our first featured artist, Team Bandaid, from Spaces a few weeks ago and we are thrilled the power couple behind the project, Dede and Nitzan, have created a special work of art for the drop. They may be new to the NFT space but they are veteran artists in the modern art world who have gained notoriety for their impressive street art displays around the world which have captured the attention of the traditional art world earning them exhibits in exclusive museums and galleries. Even more impressive than their art is the powerful journey it represents.
Art is for enjoyment but also has the power to heal as is highlighted in our recent interview with this inspiring duo.
Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you came to have successful careers in art. Did you always know you wanted to be artists?
We are two independent artists with very different styles. We became a couple through our art in the public space. We actually knew each other’s art before we knew each other’s faces. Only later did we become a couple and start collaborating, helping and supporting each other. We share a studio together and are actually together twenty-four hours a day. We are represented together in an excellent gallery in Tel Aviv and exhibit at all prestigious art fairs, in galleries and also in museums. We are both relatively young artists and hope this is just the beginning of a successful career. Neither of us knew we were going to be an artist. Nitzan has been singing in choirs all her life from a young age and has studied acting. Dede has been more into math and physics and did not know that art could be a profession at all. You could say that art came to us through the back door and very surprisingly.
You mention on your website that you have turned trauma into a lifetime project turning difficulty into beauty. Can you share more about what this means?
The image of Dede’s bandaid was born out of a desire and mental need to treat post-trauma that accompanied him from his military service as an officer. Dede was discharged from the service and did not receive treatment and had to find himself an alternative to survive mentally. Impulsively, out of the subconscious, he started painting the bandaid and has not stopped since. In the first period after the birth of his bandaid he painted tens of thousands throughout the city of Tel Aviv and then around the world. He has so far painted hundreds of thousands of plasters of various sizes. From nail size to seven-story tower size. The healing process in art through the bandaid helped Dede greatly and also helped others who began to see this sign as a source of healing and related with them. People felt that there was someone who noticed their distress. They saw the plasters on the street as signs designed for them to overcome their mental or physical difficulties.
How did you meet? Did you sense right away you’d become a street art power couple?
It took us many years to become a couple or even meet face to face. We followed each other’s work remotely and saw how each other evolved and reached new achievements in art.
Nitzan: I adored Dede and really wanted to meet but Dede was hard to reach and distant. His anonymity was very important to him and he is very suspicious of anyone who wants to meet him. I was persistent, and after a few years managed to meet him. And even then there were no sparks in the air but mutual appreciation and heart to heart talks. Eventually I initiated the romantic relationship. And from that moment something changed and we did not part for a minute. Our lives are so intertwined that if we are separated for one hour we are already starting to miss each other.
How is it working together as a couple? Do you have similar artistic/working styles? What is something you have each learned from each other along the way?
We feel lucky to have each other. We spend all day together doing nonsense, laughing a lot and making art. We have non-stop emotional support and we have fun creating next to each other or together on a joint project.
In this digital project, although the artistic line is more identified with Dede, Nitzan is behind every thought and step. We learn from each other all the time. We are very different people and work in a similar medium but Nitzan is a poet whose art is in verbal images and Dede is more in visuals. We both also deal with physical materials and learn a lot from each other about how different materials can yield different results and so on.
Nitzan: Dede taught me that in order to be successful in the art profession I need to develop resilience and not break down.
Dede: Nitzan taught me to get into the depths of things and reach resolutions I have not seen before.
What drew you to street art?
We both have the same answer. We are both people who are interested in complete creative and personal freedom. We cannot stand to have someone decide for us whether we will present our art and Nitzan can not stand the thought of going through “knowledgeable” people to publish her poetry. We both want to reach people indirectly without them deciding what we will represent and when and the street is one of the only places that allows this freedom. It of course comes with many risks but in the end it is a fascinating way to reach every person wherever they are.
What other types of exhibitions have you done?
Fortunately, the art world is slowly opening up to us. In the past and sometimes even today, street artists were treated as an “inferior breed” of artists, considered cheap. But along the way and the years we have been working, more and more doors are opening. Gallerists and art curators began to contact us and present us in formal spaces and today we are represented by a wonderful gallery in Tel Aviv (Zemack Gallery) and by an art agency in London (Mtart) and we are exhibiting around the world. We have exhibited at art fairs, various galleries, museums and alternative spaces and in homes. And of course, all along we have always continued to produce street art out of a huge love for the public space and freedom.
Have you worked with any other artists?
Over the years we have done many collaborations. But we have to say that in the NFT world there is really a demand for collaborations and this opens up more opportunities for collaboration than we have ever experienced. We are always happy to get to know and learn from others and it is always an inspiring experience.
Where else can we see your work now or coming up?
We were invited to give a lecture in Miami at a museum about our art in front of a huge company and we will do the lecture while wearing artistic masks. Immediately afterwards we travel to Cleveland for a large art project in a public space. We are also preparing for an exhibition here in Israel and at the same time we are preparing for art fairs, including Art Miami in December and more. And all this while working very hard on the NFT that has become the center of our attention recently.
Is there a message you want to spread with your art?
Lots of messages! First of all, it is important to us that people feel good. And that mental complexities and mental health problems are addressed and recognized. It is important for us to generate empathy through our art. We know that every person has gone through something in their life that stabs them or deprives them of happiness and it is important for us to motivate people to find compassion and healing through art. And we also convey very personal messages through our art like our personal story and personal traumas and many people identify with us and feel that they are not alone. Beyond all this we also have works that convey social, political and humorous messages! The NFT campaign is indeed based on post-trauma but it is presented in a very humorous way. The bandaid here really comes to life.
What piece that you’ve created so far is the most meaningful to you?
The piece that Dede is most connected to is a huge plaster that he made to cover the floor of one of the most important squares in Israel. In this square, our Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. He was assassinated because he began a peace process with the Palestinians and was shot by an extreme right-wing assassin who opposed the peace agreements. Covering the floor with the plaster is understood by every Israeli as an act of mourning for the death of peace. The work that Nitzan is most attached to is work that was deleted after only one minute by local pimps. Nitzan wrote a huge text in a place that is known for prostitution and the pimps erased it so as not to draw attention to the place.
How did you first learn about NFTs and why did you decide to launch Team Bandaid?
We heard a lot about NFTs before we started the project. There wasn’t a single person who didn’t ask us “when will you have a NFT project?” The truth is we were already tired of hearing this and we thought we would never have such a project because the digital world was far from us. So far everything we’d done was related to physical materials and we were afraid to approach a completely unfamiliar world. But Nitzan’s cousin sat us down for a serious conversation and for the first time in our lives we began to understand what it is and how it could work. We stopped being scared and really wanted to embark on a new adventure, reach a new audience and open up our minds a bit. This cousin of Nitzan is one of the project managers and we love him very much. It’s fun to work with family.
Do you have any favorite traits in your Team Bandaid collection?
There is one object that is really important to Nitzan. This is a small mirror that the character holds and inside the mirror there are crying eyes. It tells the story of Nitzan with eating disorders she has struggled with and still struggles with since the age of eight. The whole matter of negative body image is expressed in this one tiny object and it tells this little story of hers without anyone even knowing.
What’s next? Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
Wonderful question. To tell the truth, five years ago we did not know we would get where we are today so we can only hope that we will keep growing, that we will be better and smarter artists with high quality artwork and that the audience around us will grow with us. We’d be happy to paint huge walls around the world and get to know as many new and interesting places and people as possible and also start raising a family. We hope we will be happy together in our relationship at least as much as we are today (if not more).
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
We really enjoyed the questions. We participated in a lot of articles and the questions here were very interesting. It really excites us to get to know you and your community and we know how much you invest in each other. You are an inspiration to us and we thank you for the hospitality!
Learn more about Team Bandaid:
Team Bandaid Website
Team Bandaid Twitter
Artists, Click Here to Apply for the Artist Collaboration Program
