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A Reading that Writes—A Physical Act II

Grantees
Yael Davids
REDCAT, Los Angeles, California
December 6–December 22, 2013
Exhibition Grant

For her first major US presentation, A Reading that Writes—A Physical Act II, Amsterdam-based artist Yael Davids developed a new performance together with Los Angeles–based dance artist Taisha Paggett. Combining movement and text, the performers activated the elements of an installation in the gallery space, manipulating an arrangement of objects that included wooden structures, ropes, and large glass panes. The performance was inspired by Davids’s description of the landscape surrounding the kibbutz where she grew up: “Uphill were the beautiful ruins of the old Arab village Suba. We called it ‘the Arab Tzuba,’ not fully realizing what that meant. We loved walking there as kids. It was a beautiful place with a beautiful view—this was nature.” As the script developed, viewers learned that the landscape had been the site of a Palestinian village whose population was displaced and buildings dilapidated. The work explores how, through its reading, a text is being written and composed. The script weaves together personal testimony, reflections on the history of art and dance, artists’ writings, and a meditation on landscapes and places of political significance.

Yael Davids, A Reading that Writes – a Physical Act II, 2013, documentation of performance view at REDCAT, Los Angeles, 2013. Photo by Los Hopper.

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