Orla

Artist and actress Nouli Omer’s exhibition “Orla” is centered on a genre of feminist art dating back to the 1970s, engaging with representations of women and the female body in popular culture. In contrast to 20th-century feminist art which was primarily concerned with criticism of images of the female body in the culture industry, arguing that “the personal is political,” the video Orla (2015–24), consisting of filmed scenes of the artist assuming various female personae, introduces an additional critical route.

Omer adds another layer of complexity to the 20th-century feminist approach which challenged media representations of traditional female role by employing the very same expressions and tropes which she criticizes. The video Orla presents a gallery of Israeli women, each representing a different social group, through their stereotypical perspective. Some of them are disciplined, raising normative children, mobilizing them into significant military service or academic studies, but sometimes mishaps occur: Orla, for example, recites praiseful clichés about Israeli society, but in the same vein notes that “every now and then someone murders his wife…” Asia Rapaport, who presents herself as a liberal, enlightened woman, is shocked to discover that her “terribly successful” son is gay.

Featured alongside the video Orla are the sculptures Splendor and Majesty (2019) and Womb (2007), which are based on female body parts and attest to Omer’s acting/playing skills. They burst with creativity with their cheap materiality consisting of knickknacks from one dollar stores and infuse the exhibition with another dimension of critique of the representation of the female body in popular culture and the way it risks turning it into a commodity.

The exhibition furnishes the artist with the freedom to voice a sharp critique of Israeli society, uttered by the characters she portrays. It reminds viewers that the price of women’s freedom to express themselves and speak their minds is that sometimes their words will be impolite and will not align with the discourse of political correctness. The exhibition calls upon viewers to contemplate burning current issues and ask themselves: What would Israeli society look like if women experienced censorship of their bodies and words?

Hadas Kedar

Events:

Saturday 8.2.25, at 12pm | Gallery Talk in the exhibition, with the artist Nouli Omer and the curator Hadas Kedar