Petzel Gallery presented the ambitious
work of Yael Bartana including her latest films, photos, and neon-text-installation.
There were two rooms, one for each film: Inferno
and True Finn. Auditorily, a heavier
sound drew me first into the room, which was running Inferno. The Hollywood-blockbuster-like super-high quality resolution,
grand sound, and extensive ending credits of Inferno were overwhelming, but also revitalizing. This technical
grandeur amplified the sacrosanct atmosphere and helped the viewer’s immersion into
the story.
High Priest
2014, LED light box with inkjet print on backlit film, 47.24 x 31.5 inch
Inferno, a 22-minute film
includes many contradictory and contrasting aspects: modern city verses ritual tradition,
people’s jubilation verses sorrowful and epic music, and reconstruction verses
downfall. In the film, the citizens of Sao Paulo go towards a new temple, the
replica of an ancient church in Jerusalem, to celebrate its inauguration. Three
helicopters carry sacred golden relics towards the temple with citizens’ expectations
and blessings. After a drag-queen-priest starts the ritual, a sudden
conflagration happens; but the priest escapes from the disaster by abandoning
all dying people. Finally, the temple is destroyed like the demolition of the
wall in biblical Jerusalem.
Inferno
2013, Alexa camera transferred onto HD, 22 minutes
In
the last part of the film, people enjoy talking about the tragedy, taking
photos in front of the remaining wall, referring to the Wailing Wall in
Jerusalem, and worshiping the debris that had become a tourist attraction. Bartana’s
film resonates with the futility and the absurdity of human. The artist reminds
viewers of the hypocrisy of religion, as well as the forgetful and repetitive
habits in human history. It’s powerful enough to make sheep-like viewers
reflect upon the present age within the repertoire of history.
I really like your review of Yael Bartana’s films. Even i did not see this show, but i still can feel from your description. I like the way how you were aroused to the film. It is interesting that extensive ending credit usually be normal but it carried out an abnormal role in the film to emphasized the idea behind it. It would be also great if you can describe the ending credit a bit more and how it is relate to the film. The way you pointed out the film is related to religious helped me to have a sense of why the darkness is overwhelming the film. I also like how you provide with some examples from the film like how people enjoy taking pictures of tragedy and worshipping the debris. They helped to film to proved the reality of the our greedy world. I think you can also add more description about how the events in the film is also related to the history itself.
ReplyDeleteYour review summed up the show pretty well but I think the introductory paragraph can provide more information. Mentioning that the exhibition is a solo show and some additional background information about the artist are two examples. A line or two about the other works in the exhibit can also be added.
ReplyDelete