The works of Yasmin Vardi (*1989, Tel Aviv-Yafo; Lives and works in London and Tel Aviv-Yafo) are based on structural analogies between physical ailments and mental conditions on one hand, and the functioning of broader systems on the other. Vardi draws from personal experiences and autobiographical details as initial clues, embarking on an associative and poetic journey through various realms of knowledge. These realms intersect and influence each other during the editing process.

Vardi’s solo exhibition at CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo premieres Token, a new video work commissioned by the Center. Its starting point is a physical crisis characterized by extreme fatigue and an appearance of inner depletion. In long, almost static shots the camera lingers on human bodies lying in domestic interiors with minimal motion. The actors – Vardi’s friends and relatives – include some who witnessed her in a similar state of collapse and now reenact those moments, stepping into her shoes. For the first time, Vardi also appears in front of the camera, participating in the reenactment.

Another layer in Token examines the historical spectacle of bodily collapse during dance marathons, a phenomenon popular in the United States during the Great Depression. Participants in these grueling competitions danced in pairs for hours or even days at a time in front of an audience, to earn some money or a hot meal. Contestants were disqualified if both feet touched the floor simultaneously. They were allowed only 11 minutes of rest per hour, during which time many would collapse on nearby beds – an element that informed the structure and length of Vardi’s film.

Alongside archival footage from these dance marathons and numerous reenactments staged by the artist, the film introduces another reference point: the socio-economic transition from the individual to the home as a unit, drawing parallels to the 2008 financial crisis caused by the collapse of the global housing market. The loop becomes a structural and thematic device in the film, employing cinematic tropes such as cyclical time, repetitive imagery, rhythmic patterns, and circular camera movements. Against this backdrop of circuitousness – mimicking the operation of well-oiled systems and the flow of information – disruptions and glitches emerge, threatening to bring these systems to a halt, like a scratched record halting sound. In the technological realm of moving images, Vardi manipulates narrative pieces by stalling, stretching, shuffling, and reassembling them, prompting us to reconsider our perception of time and temporality.

“Yasmin Vardi: Token” is curated by Tamar Margalit.

Yasmin Vardi

Token, 2024

Video still

Courtesy of the artist