“Almost Real”: AI Blurs Reality in Tel Aviv

Noam Maumovsky - Onlookers

A new exhibition “Almost Real” will open on February 21, 2026, at 7:30 PM at Bifnocho Space, 9 Itamar Ben Avi Street in Tel Aviv. Led by Israel’s community of AI designers, the exhibition offers a great reflection on a phenomenon that has become part of everyday life: digital images so convincing, so close to reality, that they compel us to question what we see.

Who hasn’t hesitated in front of an image encountered online, wondering: is this real, or was it generated by AI? In an era in which artificial intelligence can synthesize entire worlds within seconds, we are confronted with visuals that are familiar, aesthetic, almost human — and yet something feels unsettling, resistant, slightly misaligned.

The exhibition doesn't attempt to answer the technical question of “how was this made?” Instead, it shifts the focus toward a more existential inquiry: what does this image do to us? Where does it open us up? Where does it close us off? What do we feel when faced with something that appears “too right,” too smooth, too believable?

A Creative Community at the Forefront

Twenty-four artists from the “Designers in AI” community — which includes more than 500 members — will present their works. All explore visual creation through artificial intelligence and actively engage with the evolving landscape of contemporary art.

Natalie Shafir - The Whisperer Learned

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with its founder, Natalie Shafir, a graphic designer who has been researching the integration of AI into visual creation for several years. The curatorial team includes Maya Elav Nachshon, Natalie Shafir, Noam Naumovsky, Yifat Kariv, Adi Erlich, and Sahar Bar-Nissan.

“This exhibition marks the moment when the digital community acquires a body and a physical presence. It is an invitation to look differently — to hold beauty and doubt together, and to search for the human imprint in a world that is becoming, at every moment, almost real,” said Natalie Shafir.

Between Synthetic Emotion and Perceptual Disturbance

Among the works presented, Emulated Empathy by Maya Elav Nachshon depicts an “artificial” maternal figure composed of mechanical elements, shedding tears while a child leans against her for comfort. The piece raises an essential question: is coded emotion any less authentic?

In the series Onlookers, Noam Naumovsky explores the processes of adolescence — those inner experiences invisible to the external observer yet intensely real for the one living through them.

Yifat Kariv presents Between the Lines, a black-and-white fashion photograph in which an elegant model stands on dark, dirty asphalt. The contrast between sophistication and urban neglect invites viewers to question the very nature of the scene: reality or digital construction?

Natalie Sadovnik Shapir will exhibit The Jellyfish Whisperer, an image resembling a close-up underwater photograph in which jellyfish appear to brush against a female figure. The work subtly plays with the boundary between the real and the “almost real,” between fascination and unease.

The exhibition will run until March 3 at Bifnocho Space, located in the former IDF Spokesperson’s building. The venue positions itself as a crossroads of ideas and social initiatives, fostering listening, dialogue, and trust within Israeli society.

Caroline Haïat