Green line Sisyphus.

DVD 20min.
2005

Near Maccabim Graves in the West Bank I found a boulder on the “Green Line”. I climbed it in a clockwise direction repeatedly non-stop until after 8 laps I got too tired. The climbing of each circuit differs I as get more familiar with the holds and moves and also as I get more and more tired - so with greater fluidity comes the payoff of desperate clutching. The video loops continuously - the cut being when the shot is just of the rock so only the keen eyed will notice the join. It's a nice traverse, pointless and unspectacular.

I like the myth of Sisyphus and Camus’ essay and thought it had a resonance with the location.

The Green Line is the UN designated line supposedly separating Israeli and Palestinian controlled areas - in many places it is not fenced or marked but follows geographical features.

This video was made during a short research trip for a project at the Museum of Herzilya called The Belfast Way - a show of Northern Ireland based artists. I spent a lot of time searching for interesting places to climb in Israel, the West Bank and Occupied Territories.

 

Masters MFA 25yrs on. Group show. OBG Belfast. 2006
The Belfast Way Museum of Herzilya, Israel. 2005
No topless bathing - Belfast has suffered enough. Sala Naranja, Valencia, Spain. 2005