Dead Sea Drawing

2010 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

4:40 minutes

Edith Dekyndt


Edith Dekyndt looks at the waters of the Dead Sea, that become almost an abstract undersea landscape. The exceptional physical qualities of this salt water make this an unusual study: depth, weightlessness floating, where the presence of salt eradicates any possible life form. Dekyndt films the emptiness and the supposed absence in this sea, in which we can, however, notice an immense richness of movements and colors due to light variations of light. In the video Dead Sea Drawing , the artist films the surface of the sea, under which she places a white sheet of paper. The shadows of the minerals present at the surface of the water create a random drawing, like an infinite variation of designs. She reminds the spectators that this sea and its coast have been witness to thousands of years of history, different religions and are still marked today by three distinct political entities. This work is part of a project called Lot’s Wife (La Femme de Loth), which refers to a passage in the Book of Genesis in which the patriarch, Lot, and his family run away from Sodom and Gomorrah during the destruction of the two cities. Disobeying the Angel’s command not to look back, Lot’s wife turns into a salt statue. For this project the artist has made a series of drawings where the salt creates hollows in the paper, distorts it, damages it and in doing so, creates forms and designs.


Edith Dekyndt’s work observes, identifies, and transforms the performative phenomenology of ordinary materials, objects, and gestures. Dekyndt established herself as an artist in the mid 1990s. Since then, she has become best known for working with everyday objects. These are typically forced into a transformation that leads to material transcendence, be it by means of chemical and physical reactions, or deceptively simple interactions with the human body. The documentation of such processes is essential to the work, which ranges across all sorts of media: video, photography, sound, installation, and performance. Dekyndt also channels in her art a myriad of influences, from literature, art history, philosophy, to science. The raw materials used in Edith Dekyndt’s work are often as intangible as the light, the wind, magnetic waves, or the cold. The artist conceives of works for many years, which she considers “neither spectacular, nor consumable”. She questions the relationship between the world of facts, science, and experience on one hand, and an eminently subjective approach to the world in what she calls a “universal search of subjectivity”. The immediate perception of objects that she submits to the spectators is questioned by the paradoxical simplicity of the natural phenomena that she records. The artist then develops an implicit critique of scientific objectivity and suggests that art is a field of knowledge on its own.


Colors:



Related works sharing similar palette

Chocolate Bars, Eggs, Milk
© » KADIST

Elad Lassry

2013

In his composition, Chocolate Bars, Eggs, Milk, Lassry’s subjects are mirrored in their surroundings (both figuratively, through the chocolate colored backdrop and the brown frame; and literally, in the milky white, polished surface of the table), as the artist plays with color, shape, and the conventions of representational art both within and outside of the photographic tradition...

Fashion Designer Christian Siriano on How His Creative Work Shapes His Freewheeling Approach to Art Collecting - via artnet
© » LARRY'S LIST

We spoke to the New York- and Connecticut-based fashion designer about buying art, making art, and what art and fashion have in common....

La mort du commissaire d’exposition Daniel Abadie, ancien directeur de la galerie du Jeu de paume
© » LE MONDE

La mort du commissaire d’exposition Daniel Abadie, ancien directeur de la galerie du Jeu de paume Offrir Le Monde Article réservé aux abonnés Daniel Abadie, à New York, en 1998...

Bab Sebta (Ceuta’s Gate)
© » KADIST

Randa Maroufi

2019

Randa Maroufi’s Bab Sebta , is named after a Spanish enclave in Morocco, Ceuta...

Au Musée Picasso, à Paris, Léonce Rosenberg ou les mésaventures d’un marchand d’art
© » LE MONDE

Au Musée Picasso, à Paris, Léonce Rosenberg ou les mésaventures d’un marchand d’art Cet article vous est offert Pour lire gratuitement cet article réservé aux abonnés, connectez-vous Se connecter Vous n'êtes pas inscrit sur Le Monde ? Inscrivez-vous gratuitement Article réservé aux abonnés « Le Combat » (1928), de Giorgio De Chirico...

House in High Park is a Toronto home to be discovered slowly
© » WALLPAPER*

Tour this House in High Park by Ian MacDonald | Wallpaper (Image credit: Tom Arban) By Ellen Himelfarb published 10 February 2024 With House in High Park, it's clear why Ian MacDonald has become Toronto’s architect of record for a certain homeowner blessed – whether they recognise it or not – with a tricky location...

Conversation avec Nalini Malani
© » KADIST

The artist lived in Paris around May 68...

Neo Rauch at David Zwirner Hong Kong
© » ARTOMITY

Neo Rauch at David Zwirner Hong Kong – ARTOMITY 藝源 Neo Rauch / Field Signs / Nov 16, 2023 – Feb 24, 2024 / Opening Reception: Thursday, Nov 16, 5pm – 7pm Discusion led by Dr Shen Qilan: Friday, Nov 17, 5pm – 6pm The talk will be conducted in English...

Top Art Collectors Each Reveal One Work They’ve Been Looking at Differently While at Home—See Them Here - via artnet news
© » LARRY'S LIST

In an extension of Sean Kelly's "Collect Wisely" initiative, collectors share what works are keeping them company during lockdown....

Pablo Picasso Rolls the Dice in Vegas This Weekend
© » ARTMARKETMONITOR

Pablo Picasso Rolls the Dice in Vegas This Weekend Pablo Picasso’s work is a staple of the high-value art market...

Untitled
© » KADIST

Martin Kippenberger

1989

Untitled is a work on paper by Martin Kippenberger comprised of several seemingly disparate elements: cut-out images of a group of dancers, a japanese ceramic vase, and a pair of legs, are all combined with gestural, hand-drawn traces and additional elements such as a candy wrapper from a hotel in Monte Carlo and a statistical form from a federal government office in Wiesbaden, Germany...

Display of vintage Irwin buildings was labor of love for borough native
© » TRIBLIVE

Display of vintage Irwin buildings was labor of love for borough native | TribLIVE.com Norwin Star Display of vintage Irwin buildings was labor of love for borough native Joe Napsha Tuesday, Dec...

Sabanci Museum Exhibit Explores Life, Art of Abdülmecid Efendi - via Daily Sabah
© » LARRY'S LIST

The new exhibition of Istanbul’s Sakıp Sabancı Museum showcases Şehzade Abdülmecid Efendi's deep influence on Ottoman art life with a unique......

Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions
© » SLASH PARIS

Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions Exhibition Painting Vue de l’exposition Kim Tschang-Yeul, Disparitions à la galerie Almine Rech, Paris Courtesy of the artist & Galerie Almine Rech, Paris Kim Tschang-Yeul Disparitions Ends in 11 days: November 18 → December 22, 2023 It was twilight when Kim Tschang-Yeul, then aged 42, discovered the droplet while sprinkling water over one of his canvases...

Sharon Lockhart: Rudzienko
© » KADIST

KADIST co-presents Sharon Lockhart’s Rudzienko , a film produced by KADIST in conjunction with the 2014 Liverpool Biennal...

Collector's Eye: Candace Carmel Barasch - via The Art Newspaper
© » LARRY'S LIST

The New York real estate heiress tells us what she's bought and why she loves it...

How Art And Culture Podcasts Are Sweeping Through Singapore
© » ARTS EQUATOR

How Art And Culture Podcasts Are Sweeping Through Singapore Skip to content Podcasts are everywhere these days...

Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs
© » KADIST

Tarek Atoui, Mariana Castillo Deball, Jimmie Durham, Sulaiman Esa, Edgar Fernandez, Meschac Gaba, Simryn Gill, Ion Grigorescu, Taloi Havini, Ho Siu-Kee, James T...

Top Art Auction Houses: A Comprehensive Look at Titans of the Art World
© » ART CENTRON

Top Art Auction Houses: A Comprehensive Look at Titans of the Art World - Artcentron Home » Top Art Auction Houses: A Comprehensive Look at Titans of the Art World ART AUCTION Feb 9, 2024 Ξ Leave a comment Top Art Auction Houses: A Comprehensive Look at Titans of the Art World posted by ARTCENTRON Christie’s is one of the top art auction houses in the world...

Omar Rayyan Offers Myth-Filled, Monstrous Paintings in New Show
© » HIGH FRUCTOSE

Omar Rayyan’s mythological paintings call upon a centuries-old sensibility while showcasing the artist’s penchant for the monstrous...