Archive
In this impetuous, radical solo, Arkadi Zaides is pulled deep into the crux of an ongoing violence. A political act of courage that pierces straight to the marrow.
Dance works by Arkadi Zaides venture into a zone of conflict. His country – Israel. In an impetuous, radical solo, his body is pulled deep into the crux of an ongoing violence. His strategy – giving images of daily life a resounding strength.
Images collected by B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, scroll across a screen. Filmed by Palestinian volunteers, the raw footage bears witness to the presence of violence in the settlements. A palpable threat, bodies on the alert. Arkadi Zaides deconstructs the postures observed at length, assimilating and literally incarnating them. He pursues oppression to its visceral source by observing its mundane presence within his own community. Bodies are shaped and moulded by permanent conflict. Zaides is the mediator, the filter. His obsessive movements emulate the video images to the point where they overcome and outflank him, dominate him to a state of trance. Before our eyes he becomes a startling living archive. An act of humility and courage that pierces straight to the marrow.
PRODUCED BY ARKADI ZAIDES
CREATED, CHOREOGRAPHED AND PERFORMED BY ARKADI ZAIDES
ARCHIVE MATERIALS VOLUNTEERS FOR THE “CAMERA PROJECT” OF ISRAELI CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES : ISSA ‘AMRO + UDAI ‘AQEL + ABU ‘AYESHA + AWANI D’ANA + MUSTAFA ELKAM + RAED ABU ERMEILEH + NASSER HARIZAT + ABD AL-KARIM J’ABRI + BASSAM J’ABRI + AHMAD JUNDIYEH + NAYEL NAJAR + ABU SA’IFAN + QASSEM SALEH + IMAN SUFAN + MU’AZ SUFAN + BILAL TAMIMI + OREN YAKOBOVICH
VIDEO CONSULTANTS AMIR BORENSTEIN + EFFI WEISS
SOUND ART AND VOICE DRAMATURGY TOM TLALIM
ARTISTIC ADVISOR KATERINA BAKATSAKI
ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHEROFIR YUDILEVITCH
LIGHTING DESIGN THALIE LURAULT
COPRODUCTION FESTIVAL D’AVIGNON + CDC TOULOUSE + THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE CHAILLOT (PARIS) + CNDC ANGERS RÉSIDENCES DE CRÉATION CDC TOULOUSE + CNDC ANGERS + STUK LEUVEN + THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE CHAILLOT (PARIS) + WP ZIMMER (ANVERS)
PRESENTED WITH THE SUPPORT OF CONSULAT GÉNÉRAL D’ISRAËL À MONTRÉAL PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH CINQUIÈME SALLE
PREMIERED AT TINEL DE LA CHARTREUSE, FESTIVAL D’AVIGNON, ON JULY 8, 2014
Arkadi Zaides (Tel-Aviv)
Occupation of the Body
Born in the Soviet Union, Arkadi Zaides arrived in Israel in 1990. In 2001 he joined the renowned Batsheva Dance Company, dancing for choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek and Yasmeen Godder. When he decided to pursue a career as an independent artist in 2004, he began to question the consequences of a culture of conflict, how it affects art, the physical and sensory influence of the occupation on the human body. For his piece Quiet (2010), he became the first Israeli choreographer to bring together Jewish and Israeli Arab artists together onstage. In Land Research (2012), he explored the complex relations between the body and the territory, the vital core of his work.
