POPEYIT is an inspiring art creation, combining both forces of Olive and Popeye into a new whole, empowering us to believe in our inner strength and motivating us into action.
She is authentic: sometimes vulnerable, sometimes the strongest believer, shaping her strength through small actions done with perseverance that create incredible results.
POPEYIT embodies collaboration, creativity, and innovation, reflecting everything we choose and are willing to be.
The world is changing, and with it, the stories" we dare to imagine"
(Czaczkes)
So why POPEYIT?
We are in a new era, rich with possibilities, yet as the world keeps reinventing itself, many of us are still held by narratives that no longer serve us. This tension is often perceived as fear or a problem, but by shifting our point of view, we can turn it into a great opportunity.
"POPEYIT is an invitation to move forward into a space where new voices can emerge, new models can rise, and where exploration is guided by intuition, curiosity, and passion"
The source of her strength
POPEYIT is about taking responsibility,
choosing to act for ourselves and for goals bigger than us.
Her muscle does not depend on external resources,
and it is not in the body.
It is in the mind.
Determination.
Perseverance.
Curiosity.
And above all, belief.
Being the strongest believer.
Being the strongest believer means that even in shaky times," we know we already hold the answers"
(Czaczkes)
Imagination into Action
In this new era, imagination is not fantasy.
It is direction, the way we turn vision into reality.
How do we do it?
POPEYIT has two eyes. Sometimes they are wide open, sometimes she winks. That wink is my tribute to Popeye, who had just one. But there is more. The wink carries a message, and that message is my gift to you.
With the winking eye,
we can imagine the future.
With the other eye, wide open,
we can focus on our goals.
Imagination and taking action, turning vision into reality.
And at the heart of it all,
POPEYITis about us –
our ability to join forces, take action, wink, and believe that together, we can shape the future exactly as we want it to be.
"We love your POPEYEIT story and how you’ve been able to share it through the art"
Carla Silva | VP General Manager, Global Head of Licensing for King Features, a unit of HEARST
"Brilliant POPEYIT!
Your power lies not only in your artistic talents, but in your ability to create art that understands and perceives – art with eyes that see the environment and the people, turning life into something visible, into something worthy"
Galia Oriya Cukierman | TEDxJaffa Initiator
"Tal is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I am grateful to her for allowing me to take part in this enchanting, wise event"
Prof. Noah Efron | Journalist, the leader of the TLV1 podcast, and a member of the TLV city council
"Thank you, Tal, for sharing POPEYIT and allowing us to give her life through Microsoft women. Thank you for your endless dedication and for your pure and honest heart"
Microsoft Israel R&D
From personal fractures into a shared creation
The Blue Period | Popeyit's Exhibition 2024
Curator's text: Nurit Tal Tenne
"Following a profound crisis in the life of artist Tal Tenne Czaczkes in 2016, she began an intensive collection of broken toys which she used in an intuitive process of disassembly and reassembly, healing, defining identity, and believing in capability. During this period of crisis, termed the "Blue period", she abandoned old conventions and turned bravely to realizing a vision that would finally emerge as a whole represented by the figure of “POPEYIT” – a post-feminist figure of a woman who does not need iron anchors on her arms or to eat spinach to be strong and groundbreaking – to be who she wants to be".
Desperate | Acrilic on wood | 2015
With a passion and curiosity for shiny plastic, I began disassembling toys and forming small hybrid creations that echoed her fractured, blue-shaded existence. In the quiet practice of breaking and reconnecting pieces, I discovered a method of rebuilding myself. The hybrids became more than objects; they became the architecture of my renewed identity.
Sheroine | Assemblage | 2016
A year later, in 2017, using the same methodology, I connected Olive Oyl’s head to Popeye’s body and gave the hybrid figure the name “POPEYIT”.
Did it happen by accident?
As I continued creating, I understood that the narrative itself had shifted. This was not about replacing Olive. It was about telling a new story. A story not rooted in physical power, but in the inner strength we all carry within ourselves.
I could see myself in her.
And as I shared the process with my followers, I realized that thousands of women, girls, and even men felt deeply connected to her, resonating with her empowering messages. Suddenly, it wasn’t just me. It was us.
Winnerit | Industrial Oil on Canvas | 2020
The Winnerit was the second painting in the POPEYIT series, marking the first time I freed her from spinach and iron anchors, realizing that all her strength – and mine – comes from within. The yellow background was deliberate, a color evoking optimism, power, and the rising sun, capturing the essence of this moment.
Oh boy
Oh boy she CAN! | Industrial oil on wood | 2020
The fourth painting in the POPEYIT's series is Oh boy, she CAN! – a historical inversion.
This piece features the character of Popeye with the body of Olive Oyl – cheerful, vital, passionate, supportive, and ready to collaborate.
For the first time in the series, a gender reversal is created, where the male figure is painted in pink.
“POPEYIT reflects the new era in which everything is possible, and every gender is legit”
(Czaczkes)
Argentina | Industrial Oil on canvas | 2022
I created Argentina after the wonderful World Cup victory, as a playful tribute to Messi and the team.
But what makes Argentina meaningful goes beyond the artwork or the football – it’s about readiness, maturity, and the message it carries for us, women: to step forward and win every game, on any field we choose.
The Queen Mother | Industrial Oil on wood | 2020
For many years, I wanted someone to tell me I’m a queen – to place a crown on my head. It never happened.
Lucky us! A queen doesn’t need a crown.
A queen knows she’s a queen!
Click to choose Your Artwork <<
Two Good | Industrial oil on canvas | 2020
I created this artwork after painting the first mural together with friends – a realization that when we join forces and act toward a shared goal, we hold the power to create reality.
I love you, MeToo | Acrylic on wood | 2021
Throughout my entire journey of creating POPEYIT, one question kept returning to me:
What about Olive?
The painting I Love You, MeToo was inspired by Linoy Ashram and her coach, Ayelet Zussman, when Linoy won the Olympic Gold Medal. I witnessed the partnership, the commitment, the synergy, and the way each of them realized her destiny through dedication and unwavering support.
I translated this idea into a painting – Because during the years when I myself felt like a helpless, spineless Olive, women entered my life, friends who suddenly appeared, stood beside me, and gave without hesitation. They helped me rise, made sure I did not fall, and lifted me a little higher each time. Each one of them, in her own way, became an anchor in my life. I could not have navigated that period without them.
This work is my tribute to all those extraordinary women, and especially to the magnificent Olive. Because without her, the entire POPEYIT story would never have happened.
concrete
cast
wheat
in the wind
I woke up from a dream with these words, realizing that this is the essence of Popeyit – Standing strong and flexible when needed – Popeye and Olive in the same body.
Sculpture, 30 cm High
2023
Popeye has been referenced in numerous artistic works over the years, for example, he appears in pieces by pop artists: Andy Warhol (Popeye, 1960), Roy Lichtenstein (Popeye in Red and Yellow, 1960), Jeff Koons (Three Popeyes, 2008). In contrast, Olive has not yet received a serious artistic tribute. Czaczkes drew inspiration from these and other artists in composing POPEYIT's character, emerging from the margins to the center stage, equal in position.
Until a Woman Came Along
Industrial oil on canvas
Painted as an homage to the PopArt masters Warhol, Koons, Lichtenstein, and to E.C. Segar, who created Popeye. All Were men who created the masculine Popeye.
2021
Ceci n'est pas une pipe
A self-portrait from the series "Tali's Mustache" inspired by "Dali's Mustache" (Photographed by Philip Helsman), Magritte, and Popeye
2023
Unlike the pop art movement that encouraged consumer culture, Czaczkes promotes the use of consumer remnants, recycling waste, and turning it into the spectacle itself. For her, the disposable becomes reusable, and its use becomes a sustainable celebration as she takes responsibility for herself and the environment.
Phoenix | Sculpture | Crashed leftover Plastic toys and plastic debris | 2023
In recent years, I have been dreaming of turning the leftover toys from my workshops into a new product instead of throwing them away. To reuse this magnificent, colorful resource and move toward zero waste.
So who is POPEYIT, and why use toys at all?
POPEYIT is a hybrid figure I created by connecting two existing parts, Olive's face and Popeye's body. Through her, I can convey a message of women's strength, entrepreneurship, diversity, and innovation.
POPEYIT is a sustaining figure, a leader for REUSING the existing, REDUCING consumption, and environmental RESPONSIBILITY, therefore the most natural material to create the sculpture is RECYCLING plastic toys.
That's the essence: It is about creating a new value and new purpose by using what already exists.
Murals:
POPEYIT – The strongest believer | Mural | Tel Aviv | 2020 (renewal 2025)
POPEYIT – Winnerit | Mural | Wizo Hadera | 2025
A collaborative mural created with women who have left the cycle of violence
Exhibitions:
POPEYIT – The strongest believer | Solo art exhibition | Holon | 2024 | Curator: Nurit Tal Tenne
POPEYIT – Oh oy she CAN! | Solo art exhibition | Jaffa, Tel Aviv | 2022 | Curator: Sahar Azimi
beyond drems
In November 2021, I visited King Features Syndicate in New York, the copyright holders of the original characters.
At that meeting, they granted POPEYIT the slogan: "Let's Popeyeit!"
In 2022, I was interviewed by LaIsha, Israel's leading women’s magazine.
POPEYIT is being studied in schools
Once, after giving a Popeyit lecture that a young girl attended, her mother called me and told me that as they were walking down the street, the girl noticed a Popeye shirt in a store window.
‘Mom, look! Just like POPEYIT — there’s also a boy Popeye!’
“The most beautiful and strongest element of a good story is that it never really ends".
(Czaczkes)
In October 2025, I stood on the TEDxJaffa stage and shared POPEYIT’s story on an international platform.
Photos: Shoham Efrati | Ella Faust | Asaf Guery (TEDxJaffa) | Ran Yehezkel | Inbar Kadar