Moira Expositieruimte, Wolvenstraat 10, 3512 PB Utrecht, www.moira-utrecht.nl

Gal Kinan

The Golem

installation with video and sculptures

opening:                sat. 28 March 5 p.m.
exhibition:             29 Mar. to 19 Apr. 2009
open:                    fri. to sun. 1 – 6 p.m.

> "The Golem" is an old Jewish tale about a monster made out of mud and been brought to life. This legend reminisces of the biblical story in which God creates Adam out of mud. It also reminds us of the artist who creates images out of clay and other material. Gal Kinan (1971, Israel) is fascinated by the makeability of the human being and creatures that resemble human beings, for instance robots. She is particularly interested in the way movement can be controlled when the body is no longer attached to the mind and becomes a tool capable of repetitive movement only.

> Through her art, Gal Kinan examins relationships between creator and creation as well as those between people. An example of this is the kinetic sculpture 'Father no.3784'  that was shown in 2006 at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Here a fatherfigure was swinging his daughter -represented by a doll at the end of his robotic arm- to and fro in a savage manner. The dad seemingly controlled the movements of his daughter but they were in actual fact controlled by the computer programme invented by the artist.

> In Moira, Gal exhibits new works with the theme of controlling the body. A ceramic sculpture of a young girl holds the strings of a marionet that lies lifeless on the floor. She appears to have the power to control the marionet's movements but the turnkey on her back suggests that she too is controlled by whoever chooses to wind up the mechanism inside her. The video installation “The Golem” shows images of a 19th century automaton resembling a human being that was once capable of playing a trumpet. It is briefly brought back to life by the texts about this legendary figure that Gal is reading as if they were a conjuration.

> The most recent of Gal's sculptures are made out of wax. The manipulation of movement isn't so much the incentive as plainly observing and then representing them. New Dutch women are shown making an effort to integrate into Dutch society by taking cycling lessons. Much as the artist herself has done. The difficulties they have trying to balance their bodies on the bicycles has become a symbol of the fragile balance they try to find between their old and their new identities. Although in a different manner than before, here too the human body and controlling the movement is represented.