Arad’s video Gefilte Fish, a hybrid of documentary and performance, addresses Ashkenazi identity within a post-Holocaust multicultural Israeli society. The video includes an interview with his mother as she prepares fish in her kitchen, footage of Arad himself lip-synching to his mother’s voice as she responds to questions that range from the banal to the provocative, and a talking-head puppet resembling the artist who pronounces with great authority that gefilte fish may be the last link to Eastern European traditions in contemporary Israel. A pet bird, resting on Arad’s shoulder, ultimately subverts the artist’s attempt to parrot his mother and his critique of ethnic traditions.
Also found on the compilation, ”Why Don’t You Say It?” curated by Michal Heiman.
Catalogue no. 460
File: A
Catalogue no. 652
File: The Archive
Judaism Family Puppet Home Food Israel
ארכיוני המרכז הוקמו בתמיכת קרן אוסטרובסקי וארטיס
