Alongside the youngsters who carry on the tradition of their parents and society, there are others who choose to rebel against values that have, to their mind, become worn out and no longer represent contemporary Israel. In her recent works, Yael Bartana explores these groups of young people who question the country’s morality, calling for a re-examination of myths vis-à-vis the present day reality. In Sirens’ Song, A group of young people is playing wind instruments on the Tel Aviv Promenade, against the backdrop of the country’s flags suspended on the power lines. Wearing jeans and white shirts, the youngsters play Naomi Shemer’s song Makhar (”Tomorrow”), but thetune is interrupted as the instruments must compete with the noise of passing cars whose horns sound like booing for the dream of ”tomorrow, when the army sheds its uniform, our hearts will stand at attention…”. In Greek mythology, the sirens’ beautiful song seduced the sailors who passed by their abode; those who heard their song from afar, jumped to their death at sea or directed their ships to the rocks where they sank.
’Sirens’ Songs’ is about those who rebel against ideals of national identity. The title refers to Greek mythology; the sirens are creatures that, with their beautiful song, lure seamen to their death. In the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus lets himself be bound to the mast of his ship in order to escape his desires. Sirens’ Songs opens with a panorama over the ocean as the background to one (now silent) siren, essential equipment in Israel’s permanently tense situation. A group of young musicians stand in line along the promenade in Tel Aviv; they play shrill broken fragments of military music on brass instruments. In the background Israeli flags are flying. The music gradually gathers itself into the popular Israeli song ’Tomorrow’, but the dream of a tomorrow “when the Israeli army can throw off their uniforms...” is drowned out by the horns of passing cars. The passengers behind the cars’ protective windscreens are mostly occupied with traffic and with themselves. Also found on the collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute.
Catalogue no. 706,520
File: Bartana, Yael
Catalogue no. 1178
File: Montevideo
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