Poppositions

For this occasion 1646 presented two works of the artist Tamy Ben-Tor: “Michael Taussig” and “Tolerance”. Ben-Tor’s work uses an exuberant metamorphosis skill, humour and an unforgiving bluntness to impersonate existing and fictional characters that embody controversial issues. In “Michael Taussig”, for example, the artist caricatures famous anthropologist Michael Taussig. Taussig, both acclaimed as a ‘rock star’ within the field as well as highly criticised for mixing fact and fiction in his ethnographic studies, personifies in Ben-Tor’s work the dubious power relationships originated within Academia discourse. Taussig, who wrote books on slavery, hunger, colonialisms, and poor communities in Colombia, is humorously being portrayed in the work as a self-centred figure who profits from exploiting people’s vulnerable realities in order to gain recognition and financial support.

In her performances and videos Tamy Ben-Tor dissects and overacts the idea of normality and functionality in our contemporary perception. She imposes upon herself and the viewer a state of mind which is obsessed and possessed by these ideas, only to find that the human condition remains torn away and isolated.