The whole pavilion is a play between artificial and organic…It’s a fantastic metaphor for the question of belonging to the land in Israel. Who is more natural there? Tami Katz-Freiman, Venice, 2017

Israeli artist Gal Weinstein questions the mythological and romantic images of Zionism embedded in his home country’s collective memory. For the 57th Venice Art Biennale, he used glue, mold, metal, and felt to transform the interior of the Israeli Pavilion’s shining white cube into a monument to decay. Weinstein’s site-specific installation titled “Sun Stand Still” artificially and organically altered the space to convey the inexorable melancholy and malaise that pervade a deeply contested landscape. Miami-based curator Tami Katz-Freiman guides us through the history, materials and poetry in this work.

As you listen the conversation we recorded in 2017, keep in mind the mounting tensions in the Middle East today. Consider the larger question of how nations choose to represent themselves in the context of the high profile Venice Art Bienniale. Think about the enduring power of art to serve as portent and marker of change.

Sound Editor: Anamnesis Audio | Images: Courtesy Israeli Pavilion and Fresh Art International

Related episodes: Samson Young on Songs for Disaster Relief, Lisa Reihanna on Reversing the Colonial Gaze, Sounds of the Venice Art Biennale 2017

Related links: Israeli Pavilion at the 57th Venice Art Biennale, Gal Weinstein, Tami Katz-Freiman