Which Came First, the Story or the Egg?

Prize-winning illustrator Hilla Havkin has created images for hundreds of books for children and young people. More recently, she has also started painting stories without words – on ostrich eggs. More than twenty of these eggs are displayed in the exhibition, each with its own imaginary tale about: a king, bats, giraffes, insects, kites, hot-air balloons…

In order to see every part of the story, the eggs rotate slowly, revealing surprises as they turn. They invite viewers to unloose their imagination and attach their own words and ideas to the pictures they see.

Also displayed in the exhibition are original drawings from three books illustrated by Havkin. Together with the eggs, they raise a lot of questions. Why do books need illustrations? Why would anyone paint pictures on eggs – and how is that even possible? And the biggest question of all: which came first, the story or the egg?