Dror Daum (b. 1970, Jaffa) is a visual artist based in Tel Aviv. He makes photo installations that deal with existential anxiety present in Western culture. His practice can be defined as “photography-informed”; it originates from various photographical aspects such as the format and the print, yet it doesn’t approach photography from its traditional role as a hunt for meaningful or inspiring images. He rather creates an object out of it, relying not only on imagery, but on the physical experience of the piece as an object present in space.

Daum’s works center on the human drama of modern life. They do not provide concrete information, but exist on the threshold of high anxiety, dealing with aspects of danger and destruction that he sees as common experiences shared by the entire modern population of the Western world. In his series DTSA – Don’t Trust Security Arrangement, he smuggled illegal color bombs and spray paints through airport security, and used them, in addition to his own body, to create a photographic scene at his destination.

Daum has held solo exhibitions at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2012); Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv (2007, 2004); Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art (2003); Alon Segev Gallery, Tel Aviv(2002); Julie M. Gallery, Tel Aviv (2013) and more. Selected group exhibitions include: Art TLV, 2nd Tel Aviv Biennale of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv (2009); Kuandu Museum of Fine Art, Taipei (2009); the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2004). Daum has received awards from the Israel Ministry of Culture in 2014 and 2005, and from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design MFA program in 2008. Daum has held teaching positions since 2001 in leading art academies in Israel, and currently teaches at Hamidrasha College of Art, Beit Berl, and at the photography department of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem.