ART-PREVIEW:Omer Fast-Der Oylem Iz A Goylem
Omer Fast is renowned for his films that blend fictional and documentary processes. The artist’s politically charged subject matter has covered topics ranging from race and pornography to historical and contemporary conflicts, with films such as “5000 Feet is the Best” and “Continuity”. In 2015, Fast made his first feature film “Remainder”, based on Tom McCarthy’s celebrated novel. The artist has recently expanded his work to include architectural interventions and theatrical mise-en-scènes that explore social issues.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Salzburger Kunstverein Archive
Omer Fast in his solo exhibition at the Salzburger Kunstverein presents three films that portray human interaction with the supernatural, among them the artist premiers his new film “Der oylem iz a goylem” that was shot in March, 2019 in Salzburg. The first film “Der oylem iz a goylem” depicts two characters who are stuck on a chair lift, high above the wooded ski slopes of a snowy mountain resort. The second film “The Invisible Hand” follows a family’s ordeals in a forest and dense city in the Pearl River Delta, China. The third film, “August” is loosely based on the final years of German photographer August Sander. Based on a medieval Jewish fairytale, the film “Der oylem iz a goylem” takes place on a chair lift, high above the wooded ski slopes of a snowy mountain resort in the Austrian Alps. A lone skier accidentally drops her glove from the lift. As she helplessly curses her luck, a fellow passenger suddenly appears, not dressed for skiing but rather in the long black robes, the beard, side-locks and hat of an Orthodox Jew. Like any mountain spirit summoned by accident, this fellow passenger has his own agenda and story to tell. To the skier’s growing dismay, he is quite impolite, will not stop talking and can halt the lift when it suits him. In order to exorcise this ghost and free herself from his stranglehold, the skier must resort to what she long thought suppressed and break up the boundaries separating the real world and fairytales. Based on a different version of the same Jewish fairytale, the 3D Virtual Reality film “The Invisible Hand” follows a young girl who recounts her family’s uncanny past in the People’s Republic of China. The story commences with the girl’s father discovering a finger poking out of the forest ground, desperately reaching out for a nearby ring. Tempted by the precious jewel, the boy’s better nature prevails and he helps out by carefully slipping the ring onto the finger, before running off. From then on, the family regularly receives neat bundles of cash on their doorstep, which magically reappear at regular intervals. Not knowing who their mysterious benefactor is, the family nevertheless grows accustomed to the recurring gift and becomes prosperous. The boy goes to private school. The family moves to a nice apartment. When the boy reaches adulthood and is about to wed, a mysterious guest arrives at the ceremony. Holding up the ring, the guest announces that the wedding is a travesty and must stop because the groom is already married. Following much consternation, the guest is shamed and thrown out by the groom’s mother, who is unaware of her son’ secret tryst in the forest and the true nature of the ring. Indignant and furious, the mysterious guest declares that all present will only speak the truth from then on that they will suffer the same indignities and be ostracized for speaking the truth. The film concludes on a hopeful note: After we witness a very frank exchange between her parents, the young girl tells us that knowing the truth will make her a better and stronger person. Loosely inspired by August Sander’s life and work, the film “August” follows the artist at the end of his life, nearly blind and unable to sleep. As he roams his house late at night, figures from the past briefly appear, mostly frozen and ghostlike. At times friendly and at times taunting, the figures eventually drive the artist into the night, where he seeks refuge in nature.
Info: Salzburger Kunstverein, Hellbrunner Straße 3, Salzburg, Duration: 26/7-6/10/19, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 12:00-19:00, www.salzburger-kunstverein.at
