Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead”
This article focuses on a performance titled <i>In the Land of the Gilead</i>, performed in 2012 by Doron Tavori and Yochai Avrahami at the Centre for Digital Art in Israel. The work was performed as a part of the exhibition <i>Le’an</i> (Where To?). Its title is derived from...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Arts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/3/89 |
| _version_ | 1797596165254938624 |
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| author | Merav Yerushalmy |
| author_facet | Merav Yerushalmy |
| author_sort | Merav Yerushalmy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article focuses on a performance titled <i>In the Land of the Gilead</i>, performed in 2012 by Doron Tavori and Yochai Avrahami at the Centre for Digital Art in Israel. The work was performed as a part of the exhibition <i>Le’an</i> (Where To?). Its title is derived from a plan suggested by Laurence Oliphant (a British colonialist bureaucrat, author, and Member of Parliament) in 1881 to settle Jews in the Gilead region east of the Jordan River. The article examines the ways in which Tavori and Avrahami re-enact Oliphant’s plan, which was never realised, as well as numerous other historical moments of Oliphant’s colonialist endeavours and those of his contemporaries, tying them to the present-day situation in the Middle East and elsewhere. The article also examines the wider contexts and curatorial strategies of the exhibition <i>Le’an</i>, which focused on alternative Zionist histories that challenged Zionism’s exclusive focus on the land of Israel. The article suggests that by juxtaposing nuanced and complex re-enactments of numerous and conflicting histories, the work prompts audiences to reconsider their political and national understanding of such colonial and Zionist histories, allowing these complex pasts (which are often celebrated or silenced) to be articulated as integral to contemporary national narratives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:47:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-599c7af18cfe4421a5350b75a9ccc0b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:47:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj.art-599c7af18cfe4421a5350b75a9ccc0b92023-11-18T09:12:55ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522023-05-011238910.3390/arts12030089Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead”Merav Yerushalmy0Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er-Sheva 84105, IsraelThis article focuses on a performance titled <i>In the Land of the Gilead</i>, performed in 2012 by Doron Tavori and Yochai Avrahami at the Centre for Digital Art in Israel. The work was performed as a part of the exhibition <i>Le’an</i> (Where To?). Its title is derived from a plan suggested by Laurence Oliphant (a British colonialist bureaucrat, author, and Member of Parliament) in 1881 to settle Jews in the Gilead region east of the Jordan River. The article examines the ways in which Tavori and Avrahami re-enact Oliphant’s plan, which was never realised, as well as numerous other historical moments of Oliphant’s colonialist endeavours and those of his contemporaries, tying them to the present-day situation in the Middle East and elsewhere. The article also examines the wider contexts and curatorial strategies of the exhibition <i>Le’an</i>, which focused on alternative Zionist histories that challenged Zionism’s exclusive focus on the land of Israel. The article suggests that by juxtaposing nuanced and complex re-enactments of numerous and conflicting histories, the work prompts audiences to reconsider their political and national understanding of such colonial and Zionist histories, allowing these complex pasts (which are often celebrated or silenced) to be articulated as integral to contemporary national narratives.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/3/89contemporary artre-enactmentZionismMiddle EastYochai AvrahamiDoron Tavori |
| spellingShingle | Merav Yerushalmy Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead” Arts contemporary art re-enactment Zionism Middle East Yochai Avrahami Doron Tavori |
| title | Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead” |
| title_full | Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead” |
| title_fullStr | Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead” |
| title_short | Re-Enacting Pasts, Presents, and Futures in the Middle East in Yochai Avrahami and Doron Tavori’s “Land of the Gilead” |
| title_sort | re enacting pasts presents and futures in the middle east in yochai avrahami and doron tavori s land of the gilead |
| topic | contemporary art re-enactment Zionism Middle East Yochai Avrahami Doron Tavori |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/3/89 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT meravyerushalmy reenactingpastspresentsandfuturesinthemiddleeastinyochaiavrahamianddorontavorislandofthegilead |