'Returning to Nature' is a contemporary art exhibition that opened with the approval of the re-opening of the Botanical Garden on 19/10/2020, at the initiative of the University Botanical Garden in Jerusalem and in collaboration with the Outset Fund for Contemporary Art.
In light of the current period and the corona crisis, the possibilities of spending time in open spaces become particularly important. The botanical garden, which covers 120 dunams, is the largest garden in Israel and the only one of its kind in the Middle East. Therefore, the general public can walk around the garden freely and without fear. Spending time in nature allows observation, and provides relaxation, peace and balance for the soul.
The first part of Dunietz’s work, titled Listening – homage to Keren Rosenbaum, Pauline Oliveros and Mother Earth – is placed at the entrance to the pathways of the gardens, in the bushes right of the trail. A speaker plays a short recording that sounds calm and is repeated in several languages. In it, Dunietz invites the visitors to pause for a minute of deep listening before they step into the trail. She suggests that they do so via a short exercise, during which they are required to close their eyes and listen as far as possible, beyond their gaze.
The second part of the work, Chapters for the Garden, is positioned adjacent to a bench near the caves. In this part Dunietz created a sound landscape, which is joined by the sounds of the Botanical Garden and its inhabitants and communicates with them. By working with recordings made on site, synthesis, white noise and digital clicks, Dunietz created a sonaric view whose texture is gentle. The piece is divided into four chapters: Garden Joik*, Animal Joik, Tribute to the Insects and Night Animals (or: I looooooooove youuuuuu!)
*Joik is a traditional form of song in Sámi music, performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europe. It is considered to be the most ancient consistent musical tradition in all of Europe. Joik is usually lyrical music whose theme is love.
Photo by Elad Sarig
The work is supported by Outset Contemporary Art Fund, with the generous support of Rene and Susanne Braginsky Foundation, Candida and Zak Gertler, Amber and Tony Gibbon, Rachel and Ashley Rogoff
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