Portfolio | The Jewish Museum in New York Acquires Ruth Patir’s Video Installation commissioned for the Venice Biennale

[M]OTHERLAND – The work by Ruth Patir, a Bezalel graduate and lecturer in the Department of Screen-Based Arts, which remained closed to audiences at the Venice Biennale, in protest against the war and in solidarity with the hostages, has been sold in its entirety to the Jewish Museum in New York, and will be exhibited for the first time at the Tel Aviv Museum this March.

In an interview with Portfolio Magazine, Ruth said of the purchase on behalf of the Jewish Museum in New York, “No doubt this is an effort by the Jewish public in the world who want to support the possibility of a democratic Israel and of allowing artists to be able to express their opinions on the international stage and in public channels . . . I am proud to be included in the collection of this museum – which, it should be noted, is not about Israel, but about good and important art. When I saw the works from the collection on display at the museum, I was excited to think that I was going to be included among those names. But most of all, during that discussion hosted by the museum, it was the first time I saw people react to the films, and I was moved to tears to see the power of the works in real time.”

Patir’s work deals with the 'fertility ritual': the relationship of birth, pregnancy and childbirth, the female body and women’s rights. The fact that the works are based on  her personal story and document her experiences in body and soul amidst the bureaucratic halls she must traverse and medical procedures she must undergo in the process of preserving her fertility, charges them with even greater power and meaning.

Full article in Portfolio Magazine

New York Times article

Artist’s website