IN RESPONSE:

IN RESPONSE:
The Sassoons

Noga Cohen

Nicholas Farhi and Steven Stallings

A labyrinth depicting the seven-walled city of Jericho, inspired by a map that was rescued by the Sassoon family and has been kept in a vault since the 1910s, serves as the site of activation for this multidisciplinary performance. The labyrinth, painted on a carpet beneath the performers, is drawn from happenstance of sound and movement that is both improvised and representational, a diagram of ceremonial research and discourse between practitioners. Musicians Ludwig Persik and Matthew Macauley experiment in response to choreography by Morgan Griffin with performers Ruth Fish, Hilary Ives, and Hiroka Nagai. Costumes and uniforms by Nina Gurbanova. Set design, percussion, and ensemble organized by Nicholas Farhi and Steven Stallings.

A multiple-part conversation about legacy, family and sacred lands.

This collaborative installation responds to the impact that the Sassoons had on globalization and the supply chain. With a focus on recreating trade routes by exchanging our studio residues and finding ways to melt and mold them together to redistribute, regenerate, and cultivate, we attempt to both form and extract from the illogical system, questioning the hierarchies of perceived value systems (spiritual, cultural, or physical value) within the industrialized complex.

This sculpture project merges the traditional Hamsa – a protective hand-shaped symbol widely recognized in North Africa and the Middle East – with the public symbols of hands designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For this project, structures resembling hand-sanitizer stands are dispersed within the museum. Placed and lit upon the structures are sculptural iterations of various instructional/cautionary public symbols (of hands washing or touching). Within the context of the Sassoon collection, these sculptures seek to echo the tradition of the age-old, protective Hamsa and to highlight the evolution of its historical significance and cultural associations.

This work seeks to capture the inherent contradictions of the Sassoon family, juxtaposing their generous contributions to society - such as supporting the arts and rescuing Jews during WWII - with their involvement in the highly immoral opium trade. This mixture of kindness and callousness is embodied by the poppy, which is at once a source of culinary pleasure and of a debilitating narcotic. The ceramics on which the baked goods are served feature a blend of blue and white style traditions from Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe, reflecting the cultural influences of the various places where the Sassoons have lived.

This video piece explores the impact of memory, storytelling, and cultural artifacts on shaping personal and collective identities. Drawing from archival material detailing the artist's family history in El Salvador, the film follows the director’s grandmother Anita, as she recounts her journey crossing the border in 1976 and again in 1980 to save ten more people.

The video examines the blurred boundary between the real and the fictive, and while also exploring the theme of time and the changing nature of understanding.

In front of you, there are three rooms.

The 8 channel sound composition invites listeners to enter a realm of ethereal vibrations, a world where sound and silence intertwine to create a tapestry of energy that stretches endlessly into the unknown. Embark on a journey through the ever-shifting landscape of radiating sounds, navigating the constant flux of acoustic energy. The woven strands of sound lead the way through moments of serenity and surrounding turbulence and provide a gateway to explore the endless depths of the listener’s fantasy.