If you walk into the Koffler Gallery this fall, don’t be surprised if you feel unnerved. The exhibit floor, at the Artscape Youngplace on Shaw Street, has loud sounds coming from all corners. Stand in the middle and it’s hard not to be stirred by the cacophony.
The gallery’s newest showcase, titled Pardes, emphasizes sound over image. Pardes means both “orchard” and “paradise” in Hebrew. In Jewish folklore, four great sages – Akiva, Ben Azzai, Elisha ben Abuyah and Ben Zoma – entered Pardes. They each met different fates in the mystical space.
Likewise, people interested in coming to the gallery’s Pardes will encounter the works of four great artists, all of whom are secular Jews: Nadav Assor, Ira Eduardovna, Amnon Wolman and Nevet Yitzhak. To approach the notion of mysticism, the four artists connect back to the religious roots of their Jewish identity, says Mona Filip, a curator and director of the gallery.
“It was [curator] Liora Belford’s intention to work primarily with sound in this exhibition,” Filip told The CJN. “Mysticism starts where language ends.”
Wolman, who works primarily with sound and music, said the orchard is about finding information. With his SoundTallit, visitors can sit and wrap themselves in a tallit that has speakers attached to the inside. Hymns and prayers emanate from the speakers.
The Israel-based artist said that since Judaism has multiple religious sects within it, there is a feeling of division between the different groups. Since anyone can wear the tallit at the exhibit – regardless of gender or religious background – the piece hopes to unite.
“If you think about the tallit as a symbol of something that covers and protects us… it’s not a divisive force but could be viewed as a unifying element,” Wolman said.
In another artwork where audio speakers play a key role, SoundBook – Architecture, Wolman puts a speaker at the back of a text on the history of architecture. As one opens the book, which has many holes in the middle that slice through the words on the page, he or she slowly exposes the speaker and can hear the sound more clearly.
Meanwhile, in the gallery’s most awe-inspiring work, Nadav Assor’s Ophan, a mechanical, spider-like object rests on the ground. The device, triggered by nearby motion, takes flight when someone approaches.
The whirring of the Ophan in flight merges with Hebrew chants coming from a speaker on top of the object. Assor said he was interested in connecting modern technology with ancient mythology.
“We’re making these crazy, powerful flying machines,” he told The CJN, referring to drones. “Where does the urge to do that come from?”
Assor said the Ophan was inspired by the creature of that name that appears as a vision in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel has a vision of a Chariot of God, referred to as the Ophan. “It’s described as being a wheel within a wheel surrounded by eyes,” Assor said, adding that a higher spirit can move the Ophan and control the way it moves in the world.
“As a secular Jew growing up in Israel, you’re always immersed in religion whether you like it or not,” he said. “There’s also this culture [in Israel] that almost religiously worships technological innovation.”
In a work by Israeli artist Nevet Yitzhak, we see televised footage from the Israel Broadcasting Authority Arabic Orchestra. However, the instrumental sounds we hear over the speakers do not quite match what is shown on screen.
The manipulative sounds in Yitzhak’s piece reflect the tension in the orchestra, Filip said. The orchestra was composed of many Arabs who immigrated to Israel. The colliding sounds show how difficult it is to create a cohesive cultural identity in a state where so many religions are neighbours.
“[The immigrants] brought with them their own Jewish identity that was very much interlaced with Arabic roots,” Filip said. “It wasn’t always easy to reconcile. The Israeli identity wanted to be more European and put aside these Middle Eastern influences.”
While Assor, Wolman and Yitzhak all work with sound, young artist Ira Eduardovna works more often as a multimedia artist.
In her new audiovisual work, A Thousand Years, she juxtaposes a crude sitcom setting with a choir singing a solemn song. The text the choir sings is from the prologue of A.B. Yehoshua’s A Journey to the End of the Millennium. The words ask about how we will be remembered as we approach the apocalypse.
With such striking sounds coming from many sides and corners, the exhibit creates a foreboding, textured, new sound. It is not a small, peaceful walk into the orchard.
Pardes is open at the Koffler Gallery until Nov. 30, 2014. Admission is free.
