Yael Bartana
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Yael Bartana, born 1970
Trembling Time, 2001
DVD, 6:20 mins.
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Purchase, ARTVISION Acquisitions
Committee,
Israel ..................................................................................................................................................................
Yael Bartana filmed Trembling Time from a bridge over the Ayalon Highway, as the siren sounded at the start of Israel’s National Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. During the minute the siren sounds, everyday time comes to a halt: it is pulled taut, and, as the name of the work tells us, appears to tremble. The effect is achieved by the use of slow motion and the reverberating sound of the siren. As drivers are trapped in a time capsule, the routine time-flow of busy highway that traverses Tel Aviv is transformed before our eyes.