Dor Zlekha Levy

Inhale, 2020

Artport Tel Aviv

Marking the end of a year-long art residency at Artport Tel Aviv, Dor Zlekha Levy will reveal his latest work, Inhale, composed of a robotic sculpture and multichannel audio piece, alongside fellow resident artists in the annual group exhibition Non Finito hosted by Artport.In recent months, millions of people have signed up for meditation apps, a sharp increase compared to previous years. In late April 2020, hundreds of thousands gathered online to join in a global mass meditation to heal the world. An entire world, under lockdown, wanted to breathe. This basic act of life—breathing—was never given so much attention. We have become constantly aware of the number of patients on ventilators, as well as the different types of respirators and filters. We seek breathable materials, while outdoors the sense of suffocation is growing ever stronger. The phrase “I can’t breathe,” uttered 20 times over 8:46 minutes, has become the driving force of a protest movement and a mantra inscribed on billboards.
Dor Zlekha Levy’s work attempts to breathe on its own. The most natural act becomes a calculated, mechanical effort. The small, arched body rises and falls, draws in and lets go. Fragmented sounds are emitted from its echo chamber, alternately filling the small, elongated exhibition space in which it is featured. The sound leaks out of the intimate space into the spacious gallery, as if wondering whether to go outside into the world, which desperately needs air to breathe, or stay indoors, in the safety of the secure space.
In his works, Zlekha Levy shifts images from social and political spheres to personal and sentimental realms, generating moments of yearning. In this work, too, he creates air pockets and interstices of thought that allow longing to resonate and be realized, almost physically, in sound and movement. In the small, restricted space, in view of the choking body, it may still be possible to halt momentarily, to submit, to find a place in which to catch one’s breath.

Text by curator Vardit Gross.

Non Finito opens Friday August 20, 2020.