Throughout the history of Israeli art, references to the land have been strongly tied to religious destiny and to the Zionist priority to create a secure place for Jews to live. A related preoccupation with borders stems from seemingly interminable territorial struggles; since its Declaration of Independence in May 1948, Israel has been engaged in seven different wars and its national boundaries have continually fluctuated.

Many artists working in Israel now challenge the idea of sacred places and find irony in the concept of land as an icon. In their works, they often juxtapose images of ancient holy places with modern secular sites. Among famous locales they portray are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Mount of Olives, Tel Hai, Nes Ziona, the Valley of the Cross, Gethsemane, Ammunition Hill, Rishon Le’Zion, Gaza, and Temple Mount.

One border that has not changed is the Mediterranean, historically much less vulnerable than inland locales. Consequently, the seaside has rarely been represented in Israeli art. In Desert Cliché, the sea is used as a metaphor for secular life.