Sound Installation | Voices from the Valley

The Department of Visual and Material Culture invites the public to the sound installation "Voices from the Valley" presents footages from the field that were recorded in Jerusalem during the past few months. The project focuses on Guy Ben Hinom, an ancient valley with a multi-layered history. It lies south-west to the Old City and offers a connection to the place through sound.

Behind Guy Ben Hinom there are many mythological stories, both religious and historical. In the Bible, it is described as a place of dark ritual worship where ceremonies, burning of incense and even human sacrifice took place. In later times, particularly during the Christian and Byzantine periods, it became a place for burial. Witnessing all of the above practices, the stone walls of the valley create a natural echo. The installation recalls and elevates this and makes it possible to experience the valley just as "it makes itself heard."

The recording techniques, the manipulations and composition weren't intended to bring the valley to the Tea House, but rather to create an experience that brings the listeners within the place itself. The combination between the historical voices and the stories that encircle the valley together with voices of the present create a spatial experience that functions as "notes of memory" of the location. The installation "Voices from the Valley" joins the physical and time dimensions of the valley, the voice and the memory. The experience isn't only auditory – just as the valley echoes within history, it also echoes within the people who visit it.

The installation was created with the guidance of Daniel Meir within the framework of the course "Imprinting Sound" in the Department of Visual and Material Culture.

Participants: Ido Alfrovitz, Ilay Bitan, Rose Bart Vesilev, Leah Goldin, Rotem Dolev, Sinai Rachel Yofe, Neoras Mugrabi, Eden Nesher, Shira Salomons and Yuval Ezrati.

5-19.2.25

Opening: Wednesday | February 5, 2025 | 17:00
Tea House - Sound Gallery in Hansen House
14 Gedalyahu Alon St., Jerusalem

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