Art in Tel Aviv: Highlights from the city's 2009 biennial

In Shelly Federman's artwork Aberstein (2009), members of the public are encouraged to interact with polystyrene wedges resembling sections of the separation wall Photograph: Shelly Federman

'There is something polite about the wall,' says Shelly Federman of her project. 'In this city you never see it. I want to bring the responsibility back and make people feel uncomfortable' Photograph: Shelly Federman

The wedges in Federman's Aberstein artwork are just a quarter of the size of their West Bank counterparts Photograph: Shelly Federman

Israelis are encouraged to treat the sections of wall as lounge chairs ... Photograph: Shelly Federman

... and as surf boards Photograph: Shelly Federman

'I am trying to show the audience that there is no way to be passive,' says Federman, 'because when you are passive you are actually taking part in something that is terrible' Photograph: Shelly Federman

An artwork by Mushon Zer-Aviv and Laila El-Haddad entitled You Are Not Here Photograph: Mushon Zer-Aviv and Laila El-Haddad

When the Israeli Ministry of Defence archives opened in 2002, Israeli curator Rona Sela spent three years selecting images of Palestinians that predate the establishment of the state in 1948. This document, containing pictures of Arabs, was originally in the files of the Information Service and is dated around 1949-1950 Photograph: Hagana Archive

A picture of a procession in Jaffa, taken in early 1948 by an unknown photographer Photograph: IDF and Ministry of Defence Archive

A picture of Al-Qawuqji, a top Palestinian commanding officer, taken in 1936. Rona Sela’s hope is to establish a deeper understanding of Israel’s Palestinian minority. 'They know our history, our language. Yet despite living next to them we know nothing of theirs,' she says Photograph: Palmach Archive

Jan Tichy's Installation No 6 (Tubes), 2009. The artist intends to draw attention to the undercurrents beneath the city’s surface. He says: 'Tel Aviv may be called the White City, but it sits on big black issues. And in many ways it is the unseen here that has an immense influence' Photograph: Jan Tichy

Skyline (2007), a collection of 1,500 VHS cassettes arranged like a cluster of high-rises by Mounir Fatmi, one of the only two Arabs to exhibit in the biennial Photograph: Mounir Fatmi