Yael Bartana

In her piece 'Overcoming the Future', Yael Bartana delves into the human ability to hope, a powerful emotion rooted in past experiences and a driving force behind political imagination. She draws inspiration from the tumultuous 1920s, a time marked by intense political, ideological, and social changes, rich with both utopian dreams and dystopian warnings. Bartana focuses on the Laban Choreographic Institute, established in 1927 in Grunewald, Berlin, by Hungarian choreographer Rudolf von Laban. Laban developed a unique style of expressionistic dance, known as "Labanotation," which combined elements of physical, social, and ritualistic movement – all themes recurrent in Bartana's work. The video footage is shot at the Wannsee lake in Berlin, a site laden with contradiction. It's where the planning of the genocide of European Jews took place, juxtaposed against the backdrop of beachgoers enjoying leisurely activities. Bartana often employs conflicting messages to convey her ideas. In 'Overcoming the Future', Bartana outfits ghostly dancers with animal masks, blending the concepts of physical liberation with rituals and beliefs associated with redemption. The horse, the donkey, and the ram – symbolic of various forms of redemption – are unleashed in a ritualistic performance at the Wannsee, symbolizing a release of the lake's burden, from trauma and repressed memories to the juxtaposition of utopian and dystopian possibilities.