The work of Israeli artist Nurit Sharett, Moon on Mount Gerizim, sums up eighteen months of work during which the artist followed the Samaritan community during their religious festivals and holidays in their two major centers in Israel: Holon and Mt. Gerizim near Nablus. Sharett conveys her cumulating impressions of the customs and rituals of the Samaritans who invited her to join them, and some even opened their homes to her. As an onlooker, she outlines the cultural space unique to the Samaritans without being able to decipher it, much like cemeteries located around ancient cities, marking the disappearing city’s borders. Acknowledging her limited abilities, Sharett’s position oscillates between curiosity, expression of an opinion, impressions resulting from appearances, and admitting her partial knowledge. Thus her work illustrates the ways in which art introduces questions about the limitation of vision and the restricted ability to decipher cultural codes. Sharett’s work is encapsulated in the sentence repeatedly confessing her limited knowledge at the outset of the project: "730 men, six surnames, three languages, two neighborhoods." (Dor Guez)
Catalogue no. 1238
File: Forbidden Junctions
Catalogue no. 1553
file: S
Community Cultural exchange Multi-channel Identity Judaism Family Israel Experimental Documentary
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