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THEOS & KRATEO

2018  |  Jerusalem ISRAEL
TWO Channel Video

The title of the video diptych THEOS & KRATEO comes from the etymology of the word theocracy originating from ancient Greek θεός (theos), meaning "god", and κρατέω (krateo), meaning "state rule". 

2018  |THEOS |  4 min 35 sec.loop  | Edition of 7+2AP

2018  |KRATEO |  4 min 35 sec.loop  | Edition of 7+2AP

About

​    The video diptych THEOS & KRATEO revisits the scenes of SABBATH 2008, a decade after it was filmed, constituting the third chapter of the artist's ongoing research into the ways in which public spaces in Jerusalem are denoted and restricted due to religious ideology. 
Pereg's second iteration on the phenomenon looks into the core of the events by paralleling the domains of the two prevailing authorities--civilian and state. The barricade, shown in THEOS, is enacted by civilian orthodox Jews; while the other, in KRATEO, is executed by local police according to a state protocol at the prominent Bar Ilan Junction in Jerusalem. As of this date, this is the only street in Israel closed by the police for religious reasons on the eve of the Sabbath. 
With a single-shot stage-like perspective, the videos are symmetrical in composition and duration.

    The work emphasizes the performative aspects particular to each location.

This 'theater of the absurd' is accompanied by a disharmonious stereo score created by an articulated Foley technique often used in Pereg's work. In THEOS & KRATEO, one instrument is associated with each object which appears on the 'stage'. Police cars, metal barricades, stones, chains, and even an abandoned street sign participate in the event and each item receives its own sound characteristic to orchestrate the depicted events. The assigned sounds are provided by instruments familiar with traditional Jewish music: including the tambourine, clarinet, and violin. Other sound textures incorporate the wail of the vuvuzela, an instrument originally used by crowds at football matches and which has since migrated to political demonstrations.

These disparate sound profiles escort the various objects’ movements, creating a DADA-like 'music of chance' soundtrack. 
   The result of this multi-modal installation is a hybrid of unorthodox modern music scored to a Jewish musical tradition rooted in orthodoxy, pointing to a possible absurdity sparked by the close and intimate union of both civil and religious authorities.

Makers:
Filming & Editing: Nira Pereg | 
Sound design : Nati Zeidenstadt  |  Post: Tal Korjak

Press

Haaretz: Heb

אמנות | ביקורת אמנות- תוספת שבת TWILIGHT ZONES
אבי פיטשון
נירה פרג מציגה: איך הופכים ערימת מחסומים משטרתיים לחוויה אמנותית נעלה
בתערוכתה החדשה ממשיכה פרג לחקור התנהגות אנושית בסיטואציות טעונות פוליטית.
מבט-העל שלה מחליף קלישאות עבשות של התנגדות והיא מספקת
הצעה משלהבת להמסת גבולות

PODCAST | Heb. 

״לשם שמיים״

פודקאסט התרבות של בית הנסן - מרכז לעיצוב, מדיה וטכנולגיה 14/09/2021

 רונן אידלמן ויונתן אמיר מארחים את נירה פרג

נירה פרג – לומדת מחסומים ומפרקת אותם״"

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5wKx07fLfUxxE2PohCl9S7

exhibiton history

                          Exhibition viewing room  >>                       

Twilight Zones תוספת שבת

Curator Ami Barak

Braverman Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

July 8-Oct 15. 21

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