Twice a year, in the Jewish holidays’ family dinner, a traditional dish called “Gefilefish”* is being served, made of minced carp meat. Our researchers Ori Topaz and Sharon Murro, from Shenkar College, collected the leftovers from this culinary tradition – piles of local carp skins – and took it through manual domestic vegetable tanning, on the way to become a new wearable.
This work serves as a case study for using fish skins locally, and as a direct result of local culture and tradition, with sustainability and fashion impact.
The result is exhibited at the Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts & Design 2023, opened last month at the MUZA Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, made out of around 60 pieces of rather small carp skins.
* Gefiltefish - flat large cooked fish balls, made of carp meat, traditionally garnished with a round slice of carrot.
Photo on model: Roni Cnaani, ©MUZA Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv