Vared Dror

“Souvenirs de Carmella” speaks about the need to be understood in your own language; about the possibility to communicate without having a common spoken language; about the role of the foreigner entering the society, demanding attention and recognition in his culture, saying “I am part of this place the sameway you are”.

In many ways Carmella represents me and my relation to Europe. As coming from a place that sometimes seems to be nothing but borders, I find myself many times wanting to go out to a freer space. For this purpose, Europe functions as a Promised Land. Not too far from home, open, cultural, relaxed, a place where you are not obliged to fight over everything. At the same time Ido not agree to be in a position of “A Foreigner”. I do not want to feel that someone is doing me a favor, letting me stay, asking me to forget about my language, my culture. Like Carmella, I want tobe able to be part and still keep my dignity and self respect.

I would like to say a few words about Language. The Hebrew word for Language is Safa, which also means “Anedge”. Our language is an edge, a border, a form in which we act and through which we understand the world. It is the muscle tension created in our mouth and in our body. Our language is the sounds and resonances through which we express ourselves in this world. Our mother tongue touches our deepest under standings about the world.

“Souvenirs de Carmella” was created in two places:

1. Nodar- A small rural village (30 inhabitants), in the area of S.Pedro do Sul. The residency was settled in Nodar.

2. Castro Daire- The main village of the area. Half an hour drive from Nodar.The work had 4 stages: collecting the images, creating souvenirs,selling the souvenirs and finally creating a video of the work.

Collecting the Images:

“Souvenirs de Carmella” had a clear structure yet many decisions had to be taken according to the encounters with the people.The work in Nodar was basically happy. As the inhabitants knew Luís and Rui Costa (Binaural/Nodar-the organizers of the residency), they expected different actions in the village. The people of Nodar accepted Carmella’s strangeness and gladly co-operated with her.

The people of Castro Daire where suspicious toward Carmella,many thought she was trying to fool them. Some related to heras if she was the fool.

Selling the Souvenirs:

The selling in Nodar was part of a few artistic actions taking place on the river bank, in a sunny Sunday afternoon. The atmosphere was safe and happy. Still, the people of Nodar, and especially the women, co-operated much more than I expected. They were happy to join in and “play” the ‘game’ I offered. The women bought many souvenirs in the price of a Portuguese song for a souvenir. Something beautiful happened when one of the women started to sing and the others joined her. A song was chasing a song and it felt like the women were thirsty for this opportunity to sing again, together, on the river bank. A feminine custom that existed until a few years ago, before laundry machines and televisions entered every house.

Selling in Castro Daire was different. Carmella went there on the market day. In the main garden only 2 girls sang songs and all the rest of the people were suspicious.

In the market it self, where they already knew Carmella, though were suspicious about her when she was collecting the images,they now were glad to see her. The trust allowed them to open.One woman sang a song and then another song for her friend who said she can not sing, another woman danced, a man whistled and one told a poem.

The matter of the singing was not clear from the beginning and only came while working. I wanted to use the selling as an action of exchange. To enable the buyers to make an action that exposes their own private memories. I thought to offer a few options but the crucial border of language demanded clarity.After hearing one woman singing, I knew this was the only thing I wanted.

It was interesting to experience the possibility to underst and each other without speaking the same language and to feel the places that are unreachable without a common language.

Trust opens and allows listening through more senses than the hearing sense.

Creating the Video:

Wanting to show both feelings of belonging and of loneliness in Carmella’s life I chose to create 2 videos running simultaneously,endlessly looping.

On the right screen Carmella is seen leaving the village, carryingher suitcase in which she was selling her souvenirs. Walking slowly, climbing the road, she goes until disappearing from the sight, only to appear again leaving the village.Again and again,endlessly leaving.

On the left screen Carmella is seen at “work”. She is in constant contact with people, talking, communicating, taking photos, and then selling her/their souvenirs, listening to the songs, saying good bye, leaving. Also in this video, the loop forces her to arrive again, to communicate, to sell, to leave.Again and again and again.

Final Notes:

I thank the brave people of Nodar and Castro Daire for allowing them selves to open up.

I thank Binaural/Nodarfora constant, full hearted support.

I thank all the other artists at the residency that helped in anyway they could. The work was intense and I couldn’t have done it alone.

Vered Dror is a visual artist using a range of artistic mediums, combining performing arts. She was born in Tel Aviv, studied and lived in Jerusalem and now have returned to Tel Aviv. In her work Vered Dror explores the relationship between the Public Sphere and the Private people acting their life within it, by playing with the borders between the two and with the way they feed each other.

She often chooses to focus on the ‘simple’ people, whose life lie on the ever changing border,which moves between private and socio-political spheres. Their identity is constantly forming and reforming through resistance and acceptance.

These themes can be found in her works, from the latest “Private Home” in which she stamps 3D Brielle graffiti naming and marking “private ” sleeping areas of homeless people, to “Street Tales” (Neighborhood Projects, Train Theater, Jerusalem, 2006) were different places in a neighborhood were newly named according to inhabitants private stories and memories of the area. In “Balcony Tales” (San Salvario mon Amour, Torino, 2005) Inhabitants of one building, were being connected through their balconies by laundry lines and baskets, and were invited to exchange memories, foods, etc.