Plecos is a multimedia solo exhibition by Gilad Ratman at CCA Tel Aviv‑Yafo (Sept 26 – Dec 7, 2024). The central installation combines video, sound, automated glass doors, and unfired wet clay across two gallery floors. The video depicts Plecostomus (cleaner fish) in close-up—mouths pressed to glass—creating the illusion of intimate contact, while subtly commenting on perception, survival, and human projection.

For the first time in his practice, Ratman uses 3D animation to visualize the insides of the fish, revealing clay-like anatomical models. In the upper gallery, the animation’s materiality is mirrored by actual wet clay forms, while sound and mechanics further blur the boundaries between illusion and material presence.

I crafted the VFX shots and created seamless transitions between the real and digital worlds. I rigged both the photoreal fish and the clay-like creatures, building animation systems that allowed the two realms to blend fluidly and persuasively within the larger installation.