Rachel Monosov
The Visitor, 2014

The Visitor, 2014, HDV. 15:00 min.

Exploring the timeless landscape of the Judean Desert like a lost space traveller, a woman examines plants and animals. Synthetic sounds defy all logic. Through the representation of the self out of place in her own body and environment, the visitor collects information. A rootless individual hunting for her own social history.

EXHIBITIONS
2015 The Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK), Ghent, Belgium
2016 Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York
2019 Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, USA

Installation at Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK), Ghent, Belgium

Exotic?, 2015, Installation at Catinca Tabacaru New York

Exotic?, 2015, archival pigment print, 11 × 16 in, 8 × 12, 5 × 8 in | 30 × 42 cm, 21 × 30 and 14.8 × 21 cm

Woman forced inside structure, 2014, Installation at Catinca Tabacaru, NY

Woman forced inside structure, 2014, Inkjet print, 18 × 42.5 in | 46 × 108 cm each

No news to broadcast from the Middle East today. Let’s listen to the sea shells and relax, 2015

archival pigment print, 14 × 18 in | 36 × 46 cm

Sabra I, 2014, inkjet print mounted on dibond, 48 × 29.5 in | 122 × 75 cm

No Presence Is Hidden Is And No God Is Waiting Except The Place Itself, The Chosen Land Within Four Borders, 2014, archival pigment print, 125 × 13 in | 317 × 35 cm

The long cascading photograph touches on Monosov’s sentiment of feeling alien anywhere she lives – whether be it in Israel, which was once her home but now feels far removed from her life, or in Europe where she is not a citizen and must negotiate the challenges of an immigrant status. This particular work is a 360 degree view of the Judean Desert. Technically many borders are present in the landscape between Israel and the Palestinian territories, but to the fauna and the animals, and in this case, Monosov who stands in the middle, nature offers only the great expanse, unwilling to accept human boundaries. In turn, the frame is symbolic of man made divisions and choices of territory.

Passport Photo, Age of 27, Symbiosis between herself, the photographer and her subjects. But its a self portrait, 2014, archival inkjet print

Exciting Discovery in Biblical Archaeology Found in Judean Desert: Artifact 3

Installation in Hypermaremma, La Città Sommersa, Antica Città di Cosa, Ansedonia (Gr), 2019

The Biblical Artifacts are a series of aged bronzes which blur the line between what is authentic and what is fake. The ironic title draws attention to the contradiction between the Bible – based on beliefs and faith – and archeology, a science – based on proof and truth. By extension, one could read here a parallel to the history of Israel, a country whose roots are legitimized by Biblical verses.

Installation of Effects of Displacement, Catinca Tabacaru New York 2015