Ronit Keret - TEARS
Only 1.5 degrees Celsius separates us from the disappearance of glaciers, which would flood the entire world and end life as we know it. The rate of global warming proves without a doubt that we will reach the point of no return earlier than we previously thought. We tend to think that this is not a real problem for us, that it will be our grandchildren’s problem. In Patagonia, however, the ecological disaster is progressing minute by minute: The Perito Moreno Glacier, approximately 250 km of compressed ice, is melting and collapsing into the sea at an incomprehensible speed. When Ronit Keret stood facing this terrifying sight, she felt like the end of the world was approaching. The scene remained in her mind for a long time. Only years later, after she pursued in-depth research of the phenomenon, she came up with a way to portray it. Keret decided to work with used Styrofoam packing because of its white color and the chilling fact that unlike the glaciers, the Styrofoam will never biodegrade. From this perspective, Styrofoam is part of the broader environmental
phenomena responsible for causing the disappearance of the glaciers.
TEARS, is a multi-layered large installation depicting an environment of glaciers made from thousands and thousands of little Styrofoam elements. Keret collects Styrofoam packaging from trash and industrial areas, and then painstakingly cuts them into pieces using mechanical knives and blades.
The installation is accompanied by two video-art.
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The videos address various aspects related to the ecological threat and climatic equilibrium, and are accompanied by soundtracks that reinforce the sense of dread and helplessness vis-à-vis the impending disaster. One of the video works incorporates authentic recordings of the sounds of cracking icebergs, melting and collapsing into the sea.
Wild horses, noble and black, are presented in two videos. In one, they are galloping against the backdrop of an icy wilderness, as if frantically fleeing from an approaching calamity. In the second video, the giant glaciers are crashing and falling, and the herd of horses plummets with them into the abyss.
Keret’s work is a wake-up call for us, summoning us to care and react in order to save the earth.
Curator: Vera Pilpoul
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