JETESAIS
2016-2020
ידעתיך
A conversation with the invisible between
the North / the Arctic Circle, the Lofoten Islands in Norway,
the East / the forest, Yakushima Island in Japan,
and the South / the Negev Desert, Shivta in Israel.
LOFOTEN ISLAND
AN ARCHIPEL IN THE ARTIC CIRCLE
JETESAIS / Chapter I, Lofoten
Film 13’, color 16/9
Norway
2016
In
+ 5°
+ 5°
Out
- 15°
UP NORTH
The artist returns once again to the Arctic Circle, where he secures a residency in a stilted cabin. On-site, he decides to take over the old village cinema built in 1888. It has become a place of prayer for the villagers after the neighboring church burned down in 1903. To create this first installment, the artist repaints all the elements of the space. He focuses his work on "black" after dedicating the previous one to "white." Shoe polish for leather shoes, Chinese ink for calligraphy, natural charcoal for the body. After a week of rehearsals, the artist performs in front of about twenty villagers. The day after his performance, he begins shooting his film in the wake of the live act. He travels to a frozen lake at the foot of a mountain to film the same scenes outdoors. The bronze bell gains significance in the film through a story from the owner of the location: "In 1945, during the Liberation, my grandfather climbed the mountain behind the building and replaced the Nazi flag with this bell." This chapter establishes connections between elements of Hebrew worship, Asian culture, and, more broadly, the five major spiritualties.
Analog print 70x100 cm. On aluminium support 3mm N°3/5
YAKUSHIMA ISLAND
A SUB-TROPICAL FOREST
JETESAIS / Chapter II, Yakushima
Film 6’, color 16/9
Japan
2017
Japan
+ a new Torii
The artist embarks on a long journey to the southernmost part of Japan, reaching the island of Yakushima, one of the most southern in the Japanese archipelago. Within the lush forest classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the third chapter unfolds. In this installment, the artist "changes his skin" after passing through a "sacred gate": a torii. This project requires the construction of a new wooden gateway, adapted to the measurements of the new garment. Upon arrival, he notices a sawmill and stops. In just a few hours, he builds this Torii* with the two people working there, without uttering a single word. The next day, he obtains a four-day filming permit from the "Yakushima Forest Ecosystem Conservation Center, Japan." He has identified a specific location in the forest, a three-hour hike from his camp. Before leaving the island, he constructs a box in which to transport the Torii back to Israel.
EIN ZIV RIVER
A SMALL FOREST
JETESAIS / Chapter III - EIN ZIVA SMALL FOREST
Film 7’, color 16/9
Israël
2018 - 2019
Back in Israel, Abou conducts several location scouts, searching for a landscape resembling the forest of Yakushima. He discovers the Ziv River in the north of the country, in the Upper Galilee. A year later, in 2018, he opens the transport box for the first shoot, but the footage is ultimately not used. It is at this moment that he passes through the gate in the opposite direction. The artist recounts, "It was enchanting to open this box that was closed for a year and to smell the scent of cedar wood from Yakushima spreading in a Galilee forest." He works during the winter solstice and the summer solstice in 2019 to create this third chapter, introducing a new element: ten white ceramic bowls. This film explores the notions of imbalance and disorganization.
BEITH MIDRASH
THE GOLDEN AGE
2019THE GOLDEN AGE
ISRAELI DESERT
A BYZANTINE CHURCHJETESAIS / Chapter IV, Shivta
Film 7’, color 16/9
Israël
2020
In 2014, the artist discovered the archaeological site of Shivta in the Negev Desert, housing an ancient Byzantine city built on the spice and incense trade route. This final installment concludes the JETESAIS series and marks the "golden age" of the project. Similar to the work of an alchemist, raw metal is transformed into precious metal. For this piece, the artist covers one side of the Torii with 24-carat gold leaves. He films this process in the building of an old Talmudic school in Tel Aviv. The theme of the shattering of vessels* is central to this chapter. Shivta explores the notions of balance, center, and uniqueness.
MISHKAN MUSEUM OF ART, EIN HAROD
JETESAIS / Performance - Ein HArodFilm 7’, color 16/9
Israël
2020