Yehudit Sasportas, Clay Sculptures. Liquid Desert Project, April 2021 by noa

April 2021

STUDIO

YEHUDIT SASPORTAS

TEL-AVIV / BERLIN

LIQUID DESERT PROJECT The Archeology of The Unseen Clay Sculptures

Liquid Desert project, Chapter 3 /Clay Works - Field Sentences / Mishpat Sade no.1, Sculpture & Nature May 2020 - Oct 2021, Schloss Schwante, Oberkrämer, Germany. Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, thread. Different dim. - 2

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The Archaeology of the Unseen Clay Sentences In this chapter of the Liquid Desert project, the artist formulated a text/sculpture/pottery array by marking the bottom of clay works with Hebrew letters. By shifting letters and assembling words, the clay-pot markings enabled the articulation of indoor and outdoor clay sentences. The clay pots/clay sentences contain the sound works – original recordings collected over 17 years in the German marshes and in the southern Black Forest, in the habitats of owls and primates in Berlin and Jerusalem, and in the former habitat of the artist’s family’s in the city of Ashdod. The work’s progression is linked to language and to those material fragments that contain experiences that cannot be verbally expressed. The Indoor Sentences (the Clay Sentences) are concerned with the economy of mute imagery that communicates inexpressible material and material that exists beyond language. In this sense, the Hebrew letters lead the pots to an indefinable past-future tense, essentially belonging to a frozen space outside of time. These sentence pots, unearthed and accumulated over five years, form a rich archaeological array that attempts to mutely communicate and voice the subconscious material trapped in time. These Sentence Sculptures form texts of a lacking, encoded sculpting that is activated and moved by the sound-recording works. The Sound works are represented by hand-drawings that listen and track the years-long changes in sound-waves and decibels recorded in the swamps areas, in the bodies of trees, in animal cages and in the architectonic space of human lives. The Sentence Sculptures were all made of clay and carefully drawn with the images of a swamp in northern Germany, as reflected by the artist’s eye. The Outdoor Sentences (Field Sentences), to be set in six different areas across Germany, will be photographed from a bird’s-eye view after the unveiling of the first Field Sentence, an encoded minefield of hidden and folded information. In this sense, the artist’s interest in the outdoor area is linked to her interest in a forsaken, no-man’s land, to which the art-space/ letters/ sculptures are entrusted. The Indoor Sentences (Clay Sentences) are exhibited in different indoor spaces and contain a man/animal hybrid sound. In this sense, the Indoor-Sentence pots, in their sculptural substance, form an outline of a body. The bodies of the pots in the Indoor-Sentence sculptures bear ink drawings that record the reaction of a body/eye to intensifying light; on the one hand, the pupil expands; on the other, clarity of vision is lost.

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Clay Works / Sculptures Outdoor sculptures - Field Sentences

‫ פסלים‬/ ‫משפטי חימר‬ ‫ משפטי שדה‬- ‫פסלי חוץ‬

Series of 6 indoor sculptural clay sentences; Heavy pockets Alien Mother

‫אמא זרה‬

Unravelled Heart

‫לב פרום‬

Outline of a Body

‫שרטוט של גוף‬

I've Heard The Ax is Blossoming In Us Are The Polars

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‫כיסים כבדים‬

‫שמעתי שהגרזן פורח‬ ‫בנו הם הקטבים‬

Outdoor sculpture - Clay Sentence Syntex disposition / top view

Villa Schöningen, Potsdam, Germany Clay sentence no.2/6, curator Ina Graetz, February 2021 - 10

‫ז ר ה‬

‫א מ א‬

‫ז ר ה‬

‫א מ א‬

2/6 .‫משפט חימר מס‬

Outdoor sculpture - Clay Sentence Syntex disposition / top view

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Sculpture & Nature, Schloss Schwante, Oberkrämer, Germany group Artistic Directors: Annette von Spesshardt-Portatius, Dr. Loretta Würtenberger, Jonas Leihener , Oct 2020

‫כ ב ד י ם‬

‫כ י ס י ם‬

‫כ ב ד י ם‬

‫כ י ס י ם‬

1/6 .‫משפט חימר מס‬

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Clay Works / Sculptures Indoor sculptures - Clay Sentences ‫ משפטי כלים‬- ‫פסלי פנים‬

Series of 6 indoor sculptural clay sentences

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‫ משפטי חימר‬6 ‫סדרה של‬

Alien Things

‫דברים זרים‬

No-man's Land

‫שטח הפקר‬

Illegible world

‫עולם לא קריא‬

Mute Odors

‫ריחות אילמים‬

Silent Table

‫שולחן שותק‬

Work Gates

‫שערי עבודה‬

Indoor sculpture - Clay Sentence Syntex disposition / top view

Arter museum, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey. Group show. Clay sentence no.5/6, curator Selen Ansen, Oct 2020 - 14

‫ז ר י ם‬

‫ד ב ר י ם‬

‫ז ר י ם‬

‫ד ב ר י ם‬

5/6 .‫משפט חימר מס‬

Indoor sculpture - Clay Sentence Syntex disposition / top view

Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Wilhelmshaven, solo show Clay sentence no.5/6, curator Petra Stegmann, Oct 2020 - 15

‫ת ק‬

‫ו‬

‫ש‬

‫ש ו ל ח ן‬

‫ת ק‬

‫ו‬

‫ש‬

‫ש ו ל ח ן‬

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Indoor sculpture - Clay Sentence Working Processes / Studio Tel Aviv

Indoor sculptures - Clay Sentences, Studio Tel Aviv

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Clay Works / Sound Data Sculptures

Liquid Desert project, Clay sculptures, Sound Data works. Clay, ink drawing, sound work, rolled soundtrack drawing, black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions.

Small handmade clay pots that contains a black metal box. Within each box rolled a manual drawing of different Sound Data, such as; trees recordings; monkeys recordings; underground platform vibrations recordings; (Outdoor Clay Sentences /‫ פסלי פנים‬- ‫)משפטי שדה‬ Buildings & inner wall recordings / family living spaces recordings/ mother's pulse recordings. (Indoor Clay Sentences /‫ פסלי פנים‬- ‫)משפטי כלים‬ - 27

Liquid Desert project, Clay sculptures, Sound Data work. Clay, ink drawing, sound work, rolled soundtrack drawing, black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions.

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Liquid Desert project, Clay sculptures, Sound Data work. Clay, ink drawing, sound work, rolled soundtrack drawing, black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. - 29

Liquid Desert project, Clay work / Outdoor Sculptures - Field Sentences no.1 Sculpture & Nature, May 2020, Schloss Schwante, Oberkrämer, Germany. Trees numbers 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 38, 54 sound recording, Southern Black forest inFreiburg, Germany. - 30

Liquid Desert project, Clay work / Outdoor Clay Sentence (‫ )משפט שדה‬no.1 Sculpture & Nature May 2020, Schloss Schwante, Oberkrämer, Germany. Tree no.9 sound recording, Southern Black forest inFreiburg, Germany. - 31

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Outdoor sculptures - Field Sentences no. 1/6

Schloss Schwante, Oberkrämer, Germany

SCULPTURE & NATURE, Schloss Schwante, Oberkrämer, Germany May 2020 - June 2021 ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Annette von Spesshardt-Portatius Jonas Leihener Dr. Loretta Würtenberger

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Loretta Würtenberger & Daniel Tümpel freuen sich zur festlichen Eröffnung der Ausstellung

und zu Ehren der beitragenden Künstlerinnen und Künstler

Hans Arp, Hicham Berrada, Julius von Bismarck, Tony Cragg, Martin Creed, Björn Dahlem, Jay Gard, Dan Graham, Gregor Hildebrandt, Alexandra Hopf, Jeewi Lee, Maria Loboda, Richard Long, Carsten Nicolai, David Renggli, George Rickey, Ulrich Rückriem, Yehudit Sasportas, Snøhetta, Willem Jan Smit, Monika Sosnowska, Katja Strunz, Lee Ufan, Jorinde Voigt, Ai Weiwei, u.a. am Sonntag, den 3. Mai 2020 ab 12 Uhr in den neu gegründeten Skulpturenpark Schlossgut Schwante zu einem Tag mit Musik und Kunst einzuladen. Wir bitten um Rückmeldung an rsvp@schlossgut-schwante.de www.schlossgut-schwante.de Schlossgut Schwante, Schlossplatz 1-3, 16727 Oberkrämer 25 km von Berlin I Bahnhof Schwante (RB55 stündlich) 10 min Fußweg zum Schlossgut Schwante Ausstellungsdauer: 4. Mai - 4. Oktober 2020 Öffnungszeiten: Do - So, 11- 19h Dies ist eine persönliche Einladung. Wir hoffen, dass Sie in Zukunft weitere Informationen über Schlossgut Schwante erhalten möchten - wenn nicht, melden Sie sich hier ab. folgen Sie uns auf

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Yehudit Sasportas Clay Sentence, ‫השבת אבידה‬ Hashavat Aveda Chapter no. 3 Liquid Desert project In her current proposal for the outdoor project at Schloss Schwante in Germany the artist Yehudit Sasportas uncovers for the first time the core chapter from the Liquid Desert project: Chapter No. 3 – Clay Sentence ‫ השבת אבידה‬/ Hashavat Aveda. The Clay Sentence Hashavat Aveda / ‫ השבת אבידה‬includes nine large scale handmade clay pots. Each pot includes a small clay pot that contains a black metal sound-box. Within each metal box was rolled a manual drawing of Sound Data of nine different trees. Trees numbers 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 38, 54 were originally recorded with special device by the artist between the years 2003 – 2011, in the Southern Black forest in Freiburg, Germany. This artistic act of recording trees and documenting swamps is one of the core conceptual action by the artist Sasportas which embodies a purified, deep phase in this artist’s work, who for years has been engaged in mapping the sub-conscious space, personal and collective, through actions of drawing, sculpting and sound works, which serve as an essential, mute testimony in the common experience. In the Southern Black forest and the northwestern Germany swamp, which is known as one of the artist’s core themes, the slow movement of dense sub-surface areas, which have been captured by her for over seven years, function as the representation of a rejected layer, which expresses a mute and disturbing testimony in a collective consciousness, acting to both stay hidden and be revealed simultaneously. Through her works, Sasportas offers the exposure and visibility of unseen layers of psychological archeology, which have taken part in the theater of life on one level, but were repressed and frozen on another, to provide necessary psychological shelter from their fortitude and density. The sound works are represented by hand-drawings that listen and track the years-long changes in soundwaves and decibels recorded in swamps, in the bodies of trees, in animal cages and in the architectonic space of human lives. The clay sculptures were all made of clay and carefully etched with the images of a swamp in northern Germany, as reflected by the artist’s eye.

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Clay Works / Sculptures Field Sentences no.1 Nine hebrew letters \ Nine clay pots

HASHAVAT AVEDA

1 .‫משפט שדה מס‬ ‫ תשעה כדי חימר‬/ ‫תשע אותיות‬

‫השבת אבידה‬

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Clay Works / Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (4 ‫)ה‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 53 X 48.5 cm. - 53

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1‫ש‬

Clay Works - Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (1 ‫)ש‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 46.5 X 41 cm. - 55

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7‫ב‬

Clay Works - Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (7 ‫)ב‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 52.5 X 40.5 cm. - 57

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1‫ת‬

Clay Works - Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (1 ‫)ת‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 54 X 47 cm. - 59

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8‫א‬

Clay Works / Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (8 ‫)א‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 42.5 X 52 cm. - 61

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Clay Works / Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (6 ‫)ב‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 50.5 X 33.5 cm. - 63

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Clay Works - Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (1 ‫)י‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 47 X 35.5 cm. - 65

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Clay Works - Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 8 ‫)ד‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 51 X 39 cm. - 67

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Clay Works - Field Sentence no. 1, 2020 (5 ‫)ה‬ Clay, ink drawing, sound work (tree's recording), rolled soundtrack drawing, Black metal box, branches, simplistic thread. Different dimensions. Big clay pot size 56 X 46 cm. - 69

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The Liquid Desert Project / The Book

More about the Liquid Desert

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Yehudit Sasportas - Selected catalogues YEHUDIT SASPORTAS - SEVEN WINTERS Published in conjunction with the exhibition, Organized by The Israel Museum, Jerusalem 2013 Click here to view the digital catalogue

FILM Yehudit Sasportas HASIPUR – THE STORY Villa Wachholtz 2010 Published by Herbert-Gerisch-Stiftung Click here to view the digital catalogue

THE LABORATORY Published by Prestel Publishing Ltd Kunstverein, Branuschweig 2008 Click here to view the digital catalogue

GUARDIANS OF THE THRESHOLD Published by Dumont Literatur und Kunst Verlag Israel Pavilion, La Biennale Di Venezia 2007 Click here to view the digital catalogue

THE CAVE LIGHT Published by Leonhardi - Museum Leonhardi - Museum, Drezden 2005 Click here to view the digital catalogue

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About Yehudit Sasportas Yehudit Sasportas is one of the most prominent and prolific Israeli artists working in the local and international art scene today. Her work is focused on site-specific installations, which include sculptures, drawings, video and sound works, and call for an intense and overwhelming sensory experience. Her installations have gone through a process of adapting and responding to the architecture of various museum spaces while forming into artworks that present a new way of reading architecture itself, as well as the wider cultural context it was created in. Her sculptural installations deal with a fascinating correspondence taking place between subconscious materials, unspoken and unseen, and the way these layers of information activate conscious areas across the surface. Sasportas’ Active Consciousness films, which were made over a course of more than seven years, present relatively simple actions, yet such that provoke a deep and condensed discussion about the manner in which we experience, understand and project our own personal stories on reality. This series as well as others have brought Sasportas’ works to receive meaningful recognition as an artist with clear political relevance. Sasportas represented Israel in the 2007 Venice Bienniale, and has presented more than ten international museum solo exhibitions during the last decade, in venues such as The Kunsthalle Basel, The Berkley Museum of Art, San Francisco, The Kunstverein Braunschweig, DA2 Domus Atrium, Salamanca, and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Sasportas is a senior professor at the Bezalel Academy for Art and Design in Jerusalem. She works in Tel Aviv and Berlin and is also a lecturer in the International Academy of Consciousness and Evolution (Germany and the US).

Yehudit Sasportas I E-mail: yehudit@yehuditsasportas - 79

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STUDIO

YEHUDIT SASPORTAS