Ruti Sela and Maayan Amir

Ruti Sela and Maayan Amir

Beyond Guilt: The Trilogy

10 February–31 March 200710 Feb–31 Mar 2007

In their video trilogy Beyond Guilt, Israeli artists Ruti Sela and Maayan Amir toy with balances of power. In the first part, they film their encounters in toilets and bars, flirting with and seducing men, and interviewing them about their attitudes to sex. A dyke soldier engages in a Zionist rant, followed by a protracted tongue-kissing demonstration. In the second part, in a hotel room, they talk with men they have contacted through an internet-dating site: they include a dominant, a submissive, and a proud, well-endowed would-be porn star. The men talk about their sex lives and their work, often connected with the military. In the third part, the artists invite a prostitute to a hotel room and have her shoot a video of them. The Trilogy reveals the impact of the communications media, the emergence of behavioral stereotypes in front of the camera, and a craving for exposure and publicity reminiscent of reality TV. But, more than anything, it reveals the effects of occupation, terror, and militarism in delineating Israeli identity, even in the most private moments.