The Golden Sheaf or the Past is Yet to Come

Merav Tzur unveils an earth-shattering, hidden history of the place we inhabit. An ancient, evolved culture that existed in the 8th millennium BCE in the coastal plain is revealed through extraordinary archaeological findings made by the Israel Antiquities Authority. A female tribe, known as the Golden Sheaf, spearheaded a cultural and social revolution: they established thriving political centers, developed sophisticated technologies, and maintained trade relations with other civilizations, including the Minoans of Crete.

Mural paintings, scientific instruments, unique rituals, and striking female figurines—all point to the existence of an advanced, egalitarian female culture at the heart of a patriarchal religious society, a culture whose members sought to guide humanity toward spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. The discoveries shed light on the daily lives, politics, and art of the Golden Sheaf women, as well as their remarkable achievements in science and technology. Their culture and accomplishments vanished from the annals of history when they were forced to leave the region, journeying into outer space with the promise of returning at the opportune time.

As one delves deeper into the exhibition, it becomes evident that what initially seems like authentic archaeological documentation is, in fact, a fabrication, a work created through artificial intelligence. Tzur uses technology as both a critical and playful tool, challenging accepted patriarchal historical narratives and inviting the viewer to reconsider the concept of “truth” as it is employed in history and culture. She holds a critical mirror to the audience, confronting them with questions about historical memory, the forces that shape it, and how it might be liberated from the constraints of conventional narratives.

Tzur’s fiction is not merely a game of historical possibilities. It does not aim to deceive or astonish, but rather to expose the absurdity of blind reliance on monolithic historical accounts. The Golden Sheaf or the Past is Yet to Come is an artwork that lays bare history’s dynamic nature and our capacity to reimagine it, while calling for a renewed reflection on the concept of the “past” and its significance in our lives, urging critical contemplation of our place within time and culture.

The use of artificial intelligence in the exhibition underscores its relation to the future as a space where boundaries between fact and fiction are blurred, where even the encounter with the past eliminates any possibility of stable ground.