Photo Peter Cox

 

Exodus 2048
Mixed-media installation - maze, 6 texts in lightboxes (ground floor), refugee camp (clocktower)

Commissioned by the Van Abbemuseum for Be(com)ing Dutch, Eindhoven/NL, 2008

Year 2048. The US no longer play a prominent role in world politics. After the wars of Afghanistan, Irak and the guerilla warfare imposed by Al Qaeda over the years, American leaders have decided not to intervene any longer in the affairs of the world and consequently withdrawed all support to Israel. In addition, the demographic balance has been shifting in the Middle East. Palestinian population has tripled in the last 50 years and is bursting out of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. The pressure of Arabs over Israeli Jews has become so strong that the latter, having lost the support of the US, have no other option than leave the Holy Land and emigrate. Some sporadic fights take place but, like the Arabs who hardly fought in 1948 (according to popular belief), the majority of Israel’s population leaves without opposing resistance. While an Israeli government in exile tries to rule from Brooklyn, New York, other Israeli representatives successfully negociate with the UN the re-location of the state of Israel in Uganda, as proposed by Theodor Herzl in 1903. A majority of Mizrahi, unable to return to the countries of origin of their great-grandparents, accept to relocate in the New State of Israel. Nonetheless, a large number of Ashkenazim, wealthy and educated members of society, refuse to settle in Uganda. Some manage to be granted a visa to the US - despite a drastic visa policy - and join their families all over the 50 states. Some others spread over Europe and South America, depending on their connections and opportunities.

It’s in this context that the Exodus 2048, a Maltese ferry, is found roaming in the North Sea with about 4 500 Israeli refugees aboard. Rejected from many European ports, it is finally allowed to dock in Rotterdam after a heated debate in Dutch parliament. Initially not allowed to disembark, the refugees are eventually accomodated in a variety of public buildings requisitioned throughout the Netherlands. The Van Abbemuseum being one of the requisitioned buildings, it now hosts a group of 113 Israeli refugees awaiting the result of their asylum application. They hope to receive, with their resident permit, a piece of land to establish a kibboutz named Eretz Hoven, which should revive the utopian spirit that led to the creation of the first kibboutzim in pre-Israel Palestine. 

The installation consists of two parts: a dark maze which contains 6 lightboxes displaying press dispatches telling the story (ground floor), and a whimsically staged refugee camp (clocktower).

Be(com)ing Dutch, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven/NL, 2008 (curated by Charles Esche and Annie Fletcher)