A chain of eleven songs about the city of Jerusalem is the core of the video project ‘Golden Ring’. A group of the city’s residents tell their individual stories and their ties to the city by switching the original words of the songs with their own stories using a Karaoke system. Each one of the twenty-five ‘singers’ that appear in the video swap the original lyrics of a section of one of the selected songs with a description of their personal experiences. Their stories give voice to their contemplations regarding life in Jerusalem and their introspections that at times, criticize social, political and economic issues of the city. Filming of the project took place during a one-month-long residency in the guest studio program of the Jerusalem Artist’s Studio in Talpiot. The Call for Participation that was publicly advertised invited the city’s residents to select a song that they would like to sing out of a list of songs dealing with their city. They were then invited to the guest studio that was converted into a professional sound and video studio and sang their personal story in front of the camera. Singing out of tune, adding an oriental touch to the songs and improvising gave away the fact that they were amateur singers and strengthened the authenticity of their musical messages. More …. This video project, in line with my former work, deals with the reciprocal relationship between human beings and their place and with the human fabric - with a focus on perception of identity and the relevance of time in relation to place. These are the guidelines of my art practice, these are the spaces of my interests and activities and these are the starting points of my creative work. In this space I deal and I research social and mental issues that reside in our society all the while.
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