Nira Pereg
16 Jan - 17 Apr 2010
© Nira Pereg
Sabbath 2008
still, high definition video with sound, 7:12 loop,
Edition of 7, Courtesy the artist
Sabbath 2008
still, high definition video with sound, 7:12 loop,
Edition of 7, Courtesy the artist
NIRA PEREG
Sabbath 2008
January 16 - April 17, 2010
Opening Recpetion: Friday, January 16, 7 to 9 p.m.
SMMoA will present the United States premier of Sabbath 2008, a video which documents the closing down of the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem on the eve of the Sabbath. In most cases, public access to these neighborhoods is blocked by means of temporary barriers, which remain closed for 24 hours—thus creating an artificial border between the orthodox areas and the rest of the city. The barriers are put in place by neighborhood residents, with the approval and support of the Jerusalem municipality and the police. The city therefore becomes topologically transformed into two cities—one with and one without cars. Although the value of these somewhat rickety barriers may appear symbolic, their presence is sometimes a source of friction and conflict; they delineate a clear cut boundary between the sacred and the everyday. Pereg’s subject matter is often full of political tension, but in Sabbath 2008, she has created a film that is objective in offering a documentary view of an important aspect of religious Jewish life.
Pereg was born in Israel in 1969, and now lives in Israel and Germany. She received her B.F.A from Cooper Union in New York, and graduated from the Bezalel M.F.A studio program in Jerusalem. Her works have been exhibited at such venues as PS 1 New York; HDK Berlin; ZKM Karlsruhe; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art; Liverpool Biennial, England (2006); and Loop Video-Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain (2006).
Sabbath 2008
January 16 - April 17, 2010
Opening Recpetion: Friday, January 16, 7 to 9 p.m.
SMMoA will present the United States premier of Sabbath 2008, a video which documents the closing down of the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods in and around Jerusalem on the eve of the Sabbath. In most cases, public access to these neighborhoods is blocked by means of temporary barriers, which remain closed for 24 hours—thus creating an artificial border between the orthodox areas and the rest of the city. The barriers are put in place by neighborhood residents, with the approval and support of the Jerusalem municipality and the police. The city therefore becomes topologically transformed into two cities—one with and one without cars. Although the value of these somewhat rickety barriers may appear symbolic, their presence is sometimes a source of friction and conflict; they delineate a clear cut boundary between the sacred and the everyday. Pereg’s subject matter is often full of political tension, but in Sabbath 2008, she has created a film that is objective in offering a documentary view of an important aspect of religious Jewish life.
Pereg was born in Israel in 1969, and now lives in Israel and Germany. She received her B.F.A from Cooper Union in New York, and graduated from the Bezalel M.F.A studio program in Jerusalem. Her works have been exhibited at such venues as PS 1 New York; HDK Berlin; ZKM Karlsruhe; the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art; Liverpool Biennial, England (2006); and Loop Video-Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain (2006).