Catherine Yass

Wall

In "Wall", British photography and video artist Catherine Yass documents the separation wall between Israel and the West Bank constructed by the Israelis as a means of self-protection after the second Intifada in 2000 and a rise in the number of terrorist attacks. The artist offers distant views with glimpses of the countryside and architecture on the other side of the barrier as well as close-up views, when the wall is the only structure in sight and the focus is on textures in the concrete.

"Wall" conveys the physicality of the barrier as it winds through communities and stretches across the landscape, calling attention to its potential beauty as a modernist sculpture - a view Yass finds frightening in light of its purpose. As an emblem of the division and the politicizing of the land, the wall provides the artist with a metaphor for the limited view from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Catherine Yass (born 1963) lives in London
"Wall", 2004 (Video projection, 32 min., 50 sec.)
Courtesy Alison Jacques Gallery, London/Galerie Lelong, New York