Native Defragmentation

3-Channel video installation (10 minutes loop)
with a parallel soundscore (18 minutes loop)
Artist-made Sukkah, found objects
Vernissage: October 1st, 2022, CLB Gallery, Berlin.

In a floating Sukkah*, a marriage between primal existences is investigated. This 3-channel video installation employs verses from King Solomon’s erotic, holy poem Shir Hashirim [The Song of Songs], a passionate love song between the soul and its creator. The fractured poetry was translated into native Sign Language in a German/Israeli visual vernacular – a poetic form of Sign Language art, wedded with sacred indigenous Brazilian tunes on a parallel channel. The piece blends several artistic mediums to inspire reflection on the notions of nativeness and global cross-cultural intersections (*Sukkah – a temporary hut constructed during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot, topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest, or Judaic themes).

Sign Language Poetic Translation & Performance: Eyk Kauly, Athena Lange, Gal Naor
Video: Shira Kela 
Sound: Matan Zamir 
Vocals: Lia Amit, Gal Naor
Special Thanks to Yehonatan Shayovitz, Sarah Marcus 

Photography by Anton Tal

The piece was coproduced by LABA Berlin, a laboratory for Jewish culture, sponsored by ReBeam GmbH – Audio visual equipment in Berlin, and presented at CLB Gallery, Berlin.