Across the Divide [Bridge III], 2022
Video, 14:52 min
A panoramic view between two cliffs overlooking a valley. The waters of the southern basin of the Dead Sea are visible in the deep background, while in the upper part of the frame on the Jordanian side of the Great Rift Valley, rise the Moab mountains. In this pristine landscape, at sunrise, a human figure is seen walking on a flexible rope stretched between the cliffs. He is concentrated and skillful – walking slowly on the slanting rope. A silhouette to the rising morning sun, he appears to be floating between sky and earth, as he advances step by step. His state of being is close to impossible, as though he is walking on the rim of survival. There is a strong sense of danger in his stance; the danger to forget and the danger to forget how to dream.
He walks from south to north, and the moments in which his feet are stepping-non-stepping on the distant hilltops express the essence for this work. The walking figure is the embodiment of a desired passage along the east-west axis: the vision of crossing the sea, the Salt-Bridge project. This salt crystal passage, on which Landau has been working over the last decade, is still not possible at this point in time. The anguished path of the utopian bridge project is echoed in this video piece.