The Keys

Works

Text

Archive

Inkjet print, 150X370 cm
1 The Keys
Inkjet print, 150X505 cm
2 Tree for Too One
Inkjet print, 107X147 cm
3 Window

The Keys unravels the retrospective significance found in the texture of walls and discarded materials that no longer serve their functional purpose. Featured in each composition are everyday items and debris uncovered and classified by Azoulay as alternative construction materials embedded within walls of buildings constructed during the austerity period that followed the founding of the State of Israel. Her encounters with the buildings led her to a distinct and curious phenomenon in their walls, where she found a range of objects were used in place of cement blocks. By repositioning her findings in her studio, before her lens, and under a critical gaze, Azoulay references the shelf life of existing national narratives, associating them with the material longevity and meaning found in the diverse nature of the remains extracted from their original environment. In so doing, Azoulay sheds light on the archival act as capable of recontextualizing mechanisms of sight and memory through the prism of aesthetic, cultural, and historic values.