Gates open at 8P
Projection will run on a loop from 9–11P
Running time: 15 minutes
Free and open to the public
Ritual, struggle, faith, and politics take center stage in the work of artist Ronen Sharabani (Israeli, born 1974), not for didactic purposes but as the gateway for transformational experiences. Profoundly influenced by his experiences in his home country of Israel, Sharabani’s films and videos blend movement, performance, architecture, and light into intensely visual and sensory projects. Musical scores, replete with chanting and techno-like sounds, often overlay Sharabani’s moving images, allowing the films to be at once secular and spiritual.
In celebration of the Driscoll Villa at Laguna Gloria’s hundred-year anniversary, Sharabani has created a site-specific outdoor and indoor video projection, Matchbox, featuring Israeli dancer Iyar Elezra of Batsheva Dance Company and music by Avi Belleli.
Matchbox running time is approximately 15 minutes, and the projection will run on a loop from 9–11P.
Sharabani lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel. He has worked for film and production companies including The Artery VFX, McCann Erickson, and Dreamworks, in addition to John Sayles’s Silver City. In 2006, Sharabani won the Cannes Golden Lion Prize for best creative commercial.
Presented Sunday, May 15, at the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria. Dancer: Iyar Elezra of Batsheva Dance Company. Music: Avi Belleli. Camera: Udi Golan. Video documentation: Dávid Lovas. Curated by Andrea Mellard, Director of Public Programs & Community Engagement, The Contemporary Austin. Matchbox was made possible with the generous support of the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation. Additional thanks to the Israeli Consulate, Houston.