Israel’s ‘Structures of Negotiation’ at Venice Architecture Biennale
newsdepo.com
For the upcoming 16th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia, the Israeli National Pavilion has chosen a bold theme. A team of curators comprising Ifat Finkelman, Deborah Pinto Fdeda, Oren Sagiv and Tania Coen-Uzzielli has used the c
Israel’s ‘Structures of Negotiation’ at Venice Architecture Biennale
For the upcoming 16th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia, the Israeli National Pavilion has chosen a bold theme. A team of curators comprising Ifat Finkelman, Deborah Pinto Fdeda, Oren Sagiv and Tania Coen-Uzzielli has used the country’s holy spaces that have for long been the center of unease in a geo-politico-religious conflict as an example of how negotiation can facilitate coexistence.Titled “In Statu Quo: Structures of Negotiation,” the exhibition uses architecture as a lens to explore how the mechanism of status quo — established in the 19th century — has helped regulate conflict and maintain peace in the country’s sacred spaces such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mughrabi Ascent, the Western Wall plaza, the Cave of the Patriarchs (Ibrahimi Mosque to the Muslims), and Rachel’s Tomb, in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. These sites have for centuries been torn between claims by different religious groups yet have survived, and even made space for all claimants to stake ownership and coexist. It is this fragile system of cohabitation that the Pavilion of Israel hopes to explore through 3-D models, an animated film and a video installation.The pavilion will be on view at Giardini, one of the two venues in Venice for the biennale. The biennale is titled «FreeSpace» as a tribute to the generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture's agenda.The exhibition at the pavilion of Israel will begin with an exploration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, through a color-coded, 3-D model of the church by German architect Conrad Schick (1822-1901) — the only one that exists in the world. This is the first time that the model will be presented outside the holy land in the context of an exhibition. While the model of the church is going to be placed on the first floor of the biennale venue, it will lead to another work on the mezzanine floor titled “The Ascent.” This is an animated film co-directed and illustrated by Tel Aviv-based illustrator David Polonsky. This work is intended to provide a visceral experience of going up the Mughrabi Ascent — the only non-Muslim entrance leading to the upper level Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif/Al-Aqsa. The Mughrabi Ascent too is a unique structure of negotiation because a wood footbridge to reach the structure was constructed following the collapse of an earthen pathway in 2004. However, the parties involved have not managed to reach any consensus on building a permanent bridge, thereby rendering the wood footbridge as a solution with ‘permanent temporariness,’ in the words of the curators. At the biennale, the Ascent will lead the visitors to the third floor, to explore the Western Wall plaza. When the Mughrabi quarter was pulled down at the end of the Six Day War in June 1967, the Western Wall area turned into a square plaza. Many architects since then have proposed their vision of what could be done to the plaza. The curators of the pavilion have chosen 10 of the most captivating proposals for the Western Wall plaza ever, by architects such as Louis Kahn, Isamu Noguchi, Moshe Safdie and Superstudio to name a few, and prepared 3-D models for each of those 10 proposals to be exhibited at the biennale. Adjacent to the Western Wall models will be a video installation by Israeli artist Nira Pereg, demonstrating a unique change of ownership for brief period of time that the Cave of the Patriarchs experiences each year. The cave, known by the Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, is recognized as the actual location of tombs of the three great patriarchs and their wives, historically worshipped both by the Jews and Muslims. For more than 20 years, the site has been divided between the two religious communities with the Jews having access to the southern halls and the Muslims to the northern halls. However, under strict military control, the site passes hands for 24 hours between the two communities — a process that goes on for 20 days every year coinciding with special holidays. In a matter of hours, the Jewish area is cleared out of all Jewish artifacts and stands vacant for a few hours before the Muslims enter with their own artifacts and turn the cave into a mosque for the next 24 hours, and vice versa. The final holy site that will be explored at the pavilion is Rachel’s Tomb, also on the third floor of the exhibition venue. Revered as the burial place of the biblical matriarch Rachel, it used to be easily accessible by all irrespective of religion or nationality. But no longer. It is now a fortress tomb exclusively for Jews. The exhibit at the pavilion explores the transformation of Rachel’s Tomb from an open space to a closed enclave. In addition, three movies on Rachel’s Tomb area will be screened, emphasizing the ways in which visitors and worshippers from different sides of the political map experience the site. — La Biennale di Venezia runs at Giardini and Arsenale venues in Venice from May 26 through November 25. The Pavilion of Israel will be on view at Giardini. For details, visit labiennale.org.http://www.blouinartinfo.com p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Georgia; color: #d81e00} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 32.0px Arial; color: #232323} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none} Founder: Louise Blouin p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times; min-height: 23.0px} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times} Read more
