Romi Avidan finished her video art and photography studies recently in Jerusalem. Her work entitled LandLocked, completed in Budapest, differs strongly from her previous works regarding both its technique and its subject. Avidan is primarily focused on creating videos and working with photography.
Her latest project, realized in Israel, is a rather unique documentary film: although it is based on real legal documents, the artist places her own poetry to the forefront within the world of moving images. In the videos without sounds that she produces, the only visible element is text, which is not only the foundation of the film’s visual rhythm, but also has a hypnotic effect on the viewer. In the case of her Budapest work, Avidan stepped out of the world of videos and film but kept the emphatic role of text as a visual sign: text hence becomes coequal of the image. In the work hereby exhibited, the text is directly placed on the wall, bypassing the virtual world. The verbally compact neon light evokes a particular type of handwriting, meanwhile drawing a dynamic horizon in front of the background.
The work was inspired by her readings about Hungary: the poetry found in these inspired her to choose the expression “LandLocked” which condensates her local impressions. The particularity of this word describing a country that is entirely surrounded by land without any connection to the sea, is that it has no exact one-word equivalent in Hungarian nor in Hebrew. The word expresses for Avidan Hungary’s particular state of being isolated not only in a geographical way, but also linguistically or historically. It is an island without any sea around.
The work was made in the framework of the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art 2017 Residency Program. The production of the work was supported by Art Market Budapest.
