Nachweis

Tel Aviv, 2018

In “Nachweis” (which means both proof and detection), Elianna Renner explores the clash between illegality and individual freedom to shape the world by means of unfettered personal development.

Adopting a prosecution-style approach she documents an object held in Tel Aviv to be material proof of a crime: a wall in public space, in the vicinity of the Suzanne Dellal Dance and Theater Center. The wall is recurrently defaced at nighttime. The known band of perpetrators defies the normativity of the legislation in force. This behavior necessarily leads to a conflict of interests, not least because the band has dwelt in the city for generations. The perpetrators in question are Rousettus aegyptiacus, Egyptian fruit bats. During their nocturnal excursions they leave behind a trail of damage ensuing from the fact that substances they ingest but are unable to digest, windfall and citrus fruits, in essence, are subsequently expelled in an uncontrolled manner. The result is an unlawful creative work with formal similarities to action painting while its rebuttal by the city’s institutions highlights its links with graffiti and guerilla art.