By Dalit Anolik, independent curator
www.dalitanolik.com
In the work ‘Vacuum Memories’
Merav Ezer deals with the notion of memory and
explores her own relationship with the element of time. Ezer converts
the temporary into permanent by using the medium of vacuum to create
plastic molds of her personal objects. The artist states that for
her, vacuum is "quiet, white space, nothing, departure and
alienation."
The molds are a negative of lost information,
they are mementos of the artist's life and her own private history,
perhaps to serve in future archaeology. In Vacuum Memories,
the object itself does not exist since it was substitute with its
own shape. What remains are clues which serve as an aid in the conceptual
reconstruction of the enigmatic narratives of something that was,
but now is gone. However, these unknown narratives might as well
belong to anyone, as we all have one of those vacuumed objects:
a scarf, shoe, cigarette or a hat. Each viewer attaches his/her
own association and thus creating a communal memory.
Ezer touches the abstract and her art eliminates
the ephemeral aspect of time. Air, the main substance that creates
Vacuum Memories, is compatible to the notion of time; they
are both intangible and yet they are very much felt and leave their
marks on our lives. Vacuum Memories is divided into two
mediums: three dimensional objects and prints. The first are plastic
relief works, positioned on wooded containers. The plastic objects
are illuminated by the back by white fluorescent light. The illumination
emerging from within the crate, can invoke the feeling of a mausoleum,
and thus convert the gallery into a side chapel in a modern day
place of worship. These boxed illuminators function as a sort of
a memorial tomb.
The second set is "The Blue Series,"
comprised of a set of digital prints enlarged to 13"X19."
This work further experiences the notion of ‘loss’ as
the original object is absent; it has completely disappeared and
what remains is its documentation via photography. The object’s
three-dimensionality has been flattened to a two-dimension plane,
further removing away from the idea of an entity. Space has vanished
and is replaced with merely a memory of an object that was once
surrounded by space. The frozen-in-time articles are commemorated
by their own image.
‘Vacuum Memories’
is an exceptional work of art. It is not only touching and full
of emotion but also aesthetically and visually beautiful.
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