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ARETXT : La Biennale di Venezia
… and Europe will be stunned
The exhibition … and Europe will be stunned will be the official Polish participation at the 54th International Art Exhibition in Venice in 2011. This video installation by the Israeli-born artist Yael Bartana will be the first time a non-Polish national has represented Poland in the history of the Venice Biennale. Bartana’s three films Mary Koszmary (2007), Mur i wieża (2009) and Zamach (2011) revolve around the activities of the Jewish Renaissance Movement in Poland (JRMiP), a political group that calls for the return of 3,300,000 Jews to the land of their forefathers. The films traverse a landscape scarred by the histories of competing nationalisms and militarisms, overflowing with the narratives of the Israeli settlement movement, Zionist dreams, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and the Palestinian right of return. Apart from realising the film trilogy, a new political movement has been established by the artist. The project by Yael Bartana (which consists of the films and foundations of a political movement) is an experimental form of collective psychotherapy through which national demons are stirred and dragged into consciousness. Apart from the complex Polish-Jewish relationship, this is a story about our readiness to accept the other and of the complexities of cultural integration in an unstable world where geography and politics are subject to radical shifts. Bartana tests reactions to the unexpected return of the ‘long unseen neighbour’ and recalls the forgotten motif of alternative locations for the state of Israel that were once considered by Zionists, such as Uganda. CE: So, what made you move from the foundation myths of Israel to Poland? Why Poland first? Yael Bartana : I think it is very much connected to Israel, but I wanted to create a new laboratory. A new place to explore, experiment What I initially felt is that Poland and Israel have a lot in common. We have to deal constantly with our reality and history; so does Poland. Perhaps many other places do, too, but these issues are quite specific in Poland. So many Jews had lived in Poland since the 15th century. And I have to say that when I went to Poland, I felt very connected to the place on some strange level. It’s something I never felt in the Netherlands or in Sweden. GE: It’s not about a choice between homogeneity or difference. You can have difference that is not in terms of religion, the state or ideology. Yael Bartana : Can I suggest something? Let’s read this project of asking the Jews to go from Israel to Poland as a new proposal, a possibility for some movement, a new shift in life. An event in history. Something else that could happen. Just an idea. Just a fictional idea. The Jewish Renaissance Movement in Poland has a manifesto. You don’t have to be a Jew. If you want to join, you can: it’s a proposal, a new movement. Just like Zionism, which had this idea of finding the solution for the Jewish problem in Europe by moving everyone to Palestine, without considering what was (already) there… So, this is a proposal. I’m playing the same game.
Curatori : Hanna Wróblewska Artisti : Yael Bartana
Web site : http://www.labiennale.art.pl/index.php |
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