katalog-overlapping voices - Ritesinstitute

the ghoSt of manShia awakeS
mit Hilfe eines Linienmarkiergeräts, wie es auf Fußballplätzen verwendet wird,
zeichnet Ronen Eidelman die Straßen und Häuser des manshia-Viertels nach.
Der Künstler tut dies in der Nähe der Küste an der Grenze zwischen dem
heutigen Tel Aviv und jaffa auf den Rasenflächen des Charles-Clore-Parks,
wo Familien aus jaffa, immigrierte Arbeiter aus Neve Sha’anan, Studenten
aus Florenz und Yuppies aus Neve Tzedek herumsitzen, Fußball spielen und
grillen. Eine Gruppe weißgekleideter menschen macht Yogaübungen, Hochzeitspaare
lassen sich vor dem Sonnenuntergang fotografieren.
Das manshia-Viertel ist tief unter den Rasenflächen des Charles-Clore-Parks
begraben. Es entstand in den 1870er jahren als moslemischer Vorort von
jaffa. Nach 1948 wurde das Viertel, das während der Besetzung von Etzel
[zionistische Untergrundorganisation] zerstört worden war, von jüdischen Einwanderern,
meist Überlebenden des Holocaust, besiedelt. mitte der 60er
jahre wurde das Viertel völlig abgerissen und an seiner Stelle der Charles-
Clore-Park errichtet.
Eidelman bringt die Straßenzüge und Häuser von manshia an die oberfläche.
Die weißen Linien markieren das Viertel, das unter dem Rasen des
Charles-Clore-Parks liegt – die Straßen und Gebäude, den Geist von manshia.
Die weißen Linien erinnern an die Polizeimarkierungen an einem Tatort, in
diesem Fall dem Schauplatz eines mordes an Häusern, eines Architekturmordes,
eines Kulturmordes in jaffa. Gleichzeitig sprechen sie auch die
Sprache des Fußballs und der Rasenflächen des Parks im Sinne der heutigen
Nutzung. Die Linien auf einem Fußballfeld sind sehr klar, behindern
aber nicht die Bewegungsfreiheit. In ähnlicher Weise definiert Eidelman die
Begrenzungen des manshia-Viertels neu, ohne damit ein Hindernis zu erzeugen
oder den gegenwärtigen Alltag im Charles-Clore-Park zu stören. Er setzt
nur ein Zeichen, das beachtet werden will.
Im Rahmen des Projekts „Autobiography of a City“ der Ayam Association –
Understanding and Dialogue (RA), www.jaffaproject.org.
mit Unterstützung der Kulturabteilung der Gemeinde Tel Aviv-jaffa und des
Israeli Center for Digital Art in Holon.
Projektwebsite: www.jaffaproject.org/events
I work as a journalist, an editor of an art and culture journal (www.maarav.org.il),
produce and initiate cultural projects and events, teach at art colleges, am active
in social and political struggles, while being a graphic designer and a student.
And I am also an artist. I turned to art because I realized the limitations
of my other activities and hope that through my artistic output I can not only
raise questions about the society I live in, but through my work shed light on
dark and problematic spaces with the thought that by exposing problems and
difficulties it can bring about action and change.
Growing up and living in a place of continuous violence and conflict, struggling
against extreme capitalism and the rules of the ‘free market’, fundamental religious
beliefs and practices, and through the ever growing shadow of the “war
on terror”, I constantly wanted to check and learn what place art can have in
bringing change for the good. By looking fearlessly into one’s history, exploring
the unspoken and by asking who holds the power, benefits from ongoing conflicts
and who is left out I hope to take part in influencing a better future.
Through art, I hope to examine and question my world in a fresh and stirring
way, and move beyond the obvious and the clichés. The political power structure
today makes it almost impossible to influence change on the ground and
in the short term. But culture is always a step ahead of politics, and if we can
influence the culture then later the political dimension will follow. Through
my projects of art and other forms of cultural production I use the experience
and tactics that I acquired in political work. In direct action you confront the
problem at the place where it exists. In a similar way of thinking I like to confront
the power structures, the élites, shed light in places where it‘s most effective
and challenge the people it chooses to make aware and/or critique.
the ghoSt of manShia awakeS
With the help of soccer field marking equipment, Ronen Eidelman marks out
the grid of streets and houses of the manshia Quarter. The marking is done
near the sea, on the border between present day Tel Aviv and jaffa, on the
grassy lawns of the Charles Clore Park, while families from jaffa, immigrant
labourers from Neve Sha’anan, students from Florentine and yuppies from
Neve Tzedek sit around, play soccer and barbecue. A group of people dressed
in white is practising yoga; while brides and grooms are being photographed
with the setting sun in the background.
The manshia Quarter is buried deep under the grassy lawns of Charles Clore
Park. It was established in the 1870s as a muslim suburban neighborhood
of jaffa. After 1948, jewish immigrants, most of whom were Holocaust survivors,
came to the quarter which had been destroyed during its occupation
by Etzel [zionist underground organisation]. In the middle of the Sixties the
quarter was totally demolished and in its stead the Charles Clore Park was
built.
Eidelman brings the streets and houses of manshia up to the surface. The
white lines delineate the quarter that lies under the grassy lawns of Charles
Clore Park – the streets and buildings – the ghost of manshia. The markings,
made with white lines, are reminiscent of police markings at a murder scene,
in this case the murder of the houses, the architectural murder, the cultural
murder of jaffa. At the same time he speaks in the language of soccer reflecting
the lawns of the park and its current use nowadays. The lines in the soccer
field are quite clear; however they do not interfere with the traffic. Similar
to the borders of the soccer field, Eidelman redefines the boundaries of
the manshia Quarter without constituting an obstacle or hindering the present
day life that continues in Charles Clore Park; he made just a mark that
must be taken into consideration.
In the framework of the “Autobiography of a City” project run by the Ayam
Association – Understanding and Dialogue (RA), www.jaffaproject.org.
With the assistance of the Tel Aviv – jaffa municipality’s Culture and Arts Division,
Department of Arts / and the Israeli Center for Digital Art in Holon
Project website: www.jaffaproject.org/events
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