In this interdisciplinary endeavor, I propose to create a harmonious fusion of poetry, painting, and film, aiming to evoke a multisensory experience for the audience. Each element will complement and enrich the others, creating a unique narrative tapestry.
Hospice of Dry Words
הוספיס של מילים יבשות, Ospizio di Parole Aride 2022 ,17’10
“The whole of reality was just a vain attempt to imitate the world of words.”
Amos Oz, A Tale of Love and Darkness
“I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world
stand still.”
Arthur Rimbaud, A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat
“I don’t want just words. If that’s all you have for me, you’d better go”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned
Without words, the world would be a thing and not a quality of thought and reflection. By using words, we’re giving shape to objects and concatenating our explanations of the world with our human experience. Words enunciate things found in the physical world, but these many ways of naming arise from different sources, since words are not a part of nature, but cultural strategies or invented tools to give meaning to things. Words can be changed and interchanged, reinforced or contradicted, and they often take forked paths. Every word is a host with whom we build a mutually interchangeable relationship; is this host a guest, a stranger or an enemy? Is the hospice we build from our words a shelter, a prison or a pathway to oblivion? How do human beings construct their own realities, their relationships with others and the story of their own existence through our world of words?
Running time | 10:17 minutes
Exhibition formats | HD
Image Size | HD
Resolution: 1920×1080 1080p (HD), 8.5Mbps
Audio Format | 2.0
Shooting format | 4K
Color
Year of production | 2022
Summary
Through a series of evocative visuals and vignettes, Hospice of Dry Words explores the multifaceted nature of language on a poetic journey across different countries. It underscores how words, rather than being intrinsic to the natural world, are instead cultural constructs and inventive instruments designed to attribute significance to our surroundings. The film emphasizes that each word represents a distinct perspective, and their meanings can be altered, intertwined, strengthened, or contradicted, taking us down various paths of perception.
The film emphasizes the power of words to shape our understanding of the physical world. It emphasizes that words are not inherent in nature but rather cultural constructs, invented tools that grant significance to the objects they describe. Every word becomes a host with whom we establish a complex and mutable relationship. Viewers are encouraged to ponder whether these linguistic hosts are guests, strangers, or even adversaries. As the narrative progresses, it becomes clear that the hospice created through words is a metaphorical construct: it can serve as a refuge, a prison, or a place of impending doom.
Hospice of Dry Words challenges viewers to reflect on how humans construct their individual realities and narratives of existence. The film poses thought-provoking questions about the nature of the world we inhabit. Is it a temporary dwelling for pilgrims, a sanctuary for the abandoned, or a dwelling for the terminally ill? The film's exploration of these questions invites the audience to engage in deep introspection about the role of language in shaping their perception of reality and the multifaceted meanings that words can hold.
Ultimately, the film provokes viewers to reflect on the profound influence of words in shaping our perceptions of the world and one another. It raises essential questions about the words we choose and the impact they have on creating our shared reality – whether they offer support and understanding or perpetuate discrimination and division. The film invites the audience to contemplate the role of language in our lives and the responsibility we hold in choosing the words that define our individual and collective experiences.
Author
Helena Barbagelata
Helena Barbagelata is a model, multidisciplinary artist, writer, researcher and activist. She has received several artistic awards from the Onassis Foundation, the University of Barcelona, the Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, the International Poetry and Theater Prize Castello di Duino, among others. Member of the Israeli Artist Network (IAN), America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF), Society of Jewish Artists (SoJa) and the Organization for the Democratization of the Visual Arts (OBDK). Her works combine painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, film, music, and dance. She held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Europe, Israel, South America, Australia and the United States. She has published poetry collections, illustrated albums and works of fiction.
