My life companion had lost his ability to speak but repeated the word “Lo”, meaning “No”, in Hebrew, whenever he wished to express himself. Though he could not speak, he said “Lo” loudly, and pronounced, from the depths of his being. “Lo” meant “every possible word” – it was an inclusive exclamation, which I identified with.

LO!

Approximately 45 min.

In Lo!, I defined an area of 3X3 meters with white lines made of isolation tape. It was a paperback book about the Polish artist, Bruno Schultz, that was bequeathed to me by its writer, Zvi Raphaeli, with which I`d measure the spacing between each line. It would gain added value each time I would measure. The first value was in that Zvi Raphaeli was the first person, of esteem, who appreciated my performance-art. The second, was in that each time I measured the space between the lines, with this book, I was reminded of the heights which both these men`s works stand for. The lined floor resembled a page in a notebook, on which I placed each of the components of Lo! in a specific order and manner. The following is a description of the Installation Lo!, which the audience met when entering the performance space:

*4 Twigs: 2 twigs, 1 meter long + 2 small twigs, 8-10 cm long. Looking outside his window, Daniel watched me, as I rummaged on the garden floor, among trees and flowers. I chose twigs that were thin, flexible, and apt to break. We marveled in turn, at their elegance, as we waved the twigs to and fro, making the air lighter, in his bedroom. The small twigs were placed on the 1st and 2nd lines of the isolation tape grid. One of the larger twigs was placed on the 2nd white line, and the other large twig, in the space in-between the third and fourth lines.   

*2-3 Peppers: 1 pepper was yellow with an orange tint, 2 was a lemon-colored pepper, and 3 was a red pepper – for contrast. I often brought more than I needed. This was true when I was buying vegetables for Daniel’s salad as well as for the performance. But I sought only two, or maximum three peppers, which I did finally choose and use. The three peppers stood as marks of warm colors on the black and white background.

Two peppers stood one next to the other between the 12th and 13th lines, and the single pepper stood, singularly, between 14th and 15th lines.

*An Egyptian military helmet – which Daniel found, in the street, in a heap of discarded objects. I filled the helmet with the following: a. a soiled, white shirt, the size of a newborn baby.  b. vegetables: 2 onions, 1 large potato, 1 lemon, 1 large overripe tomato, 2 large zucchinis joined, crosswise, with a twig. c. 5 small, transparent plastic paint containers, cylinder shaped, 5 cm in height, containing the colors: red, yellow, blue, green, and black. Each colored cylinder was tied tightly to the top part of a twig, about 13 cm long, by a thin brown rope which was wound around it several times. The colorful cylinders stood in between the vegetables.

I placed the helmet on my right, 3 white lines from the top line.   

*8 Stones: diverse and tactile in shape, each one a perfect fit to my closed fist. I had collected the stones, during the span of time of creating and performing Lo!, from sidewalks, fields, and from the Daniel`s private windowsill assortment. Since there is little danger of their perishing, I have been able to save this collection. The stones were set in a row, horizontally ordered, on the second line, above the helmet.

Flood lights were set, to accentuate the contrast between the white lines and the floor, which at certain angles had an almost optical effect, causing the eyes to dart between grid and background. Under these lights, the twigs, vegetables, and helmet appeared as sculpted shapes and colors, spaced in measured distances, gliding, weightless, as a curious replacement for words over the striped floor.      

The audience sat, on the floor, enclosing the installation on three sides.

The following is a sequence of this performance’s actions:

I started the performance on the 1^st line, standing on the farthest line from the audience. I walked over two lines, bent down to my right side, and sat, hunched over the helmet, and removed the covers of the 5 paint containers. They were opened only after an interim in which I was balancing the helmet, which tilted easily, when stabilizing the twigs jammed in between the vegetables, to which the containers were tied. Inevitably there was a puddle of spilt paint on the floor. / I returned, to the farthest line, the top one, and I smiled to the audience, sincerely, acknowledging my appreciation of their having made the effort to come see the performance. / I leaned over to the row of 8 stones, a few steps to my left, on the same line I was standing on. I picked up as many stones as I could and held them tightly, in my hand, until I could feel their piercing sharpness. Then, I dropped them one by one. I leaned over to the remaining row of the stones, and collected them with my other hand. I held them tightly. When I could feel a piercing pain in this hand, I dropped them.

I bent my knees, crouching, with only my toes touching the floor, and stretched my hand to the white lines ahead. My body swayed and changed directions as I slid my fingers on smooth surface tracing the lines. I tried to trace as much of the lines as possible. As I let myself be drawn by one hand, my other hand began stroking a strand of hair above my forehead. / I took the small twig, with the white band, from the 1st line on my left, and moved to the third line facing the audience. On my knees, I raised my hand next to my ear, my palm opened horizontally and the twig visibly held between the finger and the palm of my hand. My fingers worked along, across and around the twig using it to perpetuate various signs. The other hand was adjusting its hold to the anatomy of my jaw, cheeks and chin. / I sat, in the center of the lined space, my legs flung forward and slightly parted. I stretched to my left, and picked up two long twigs, each one in each hand. I held them out, frontwards, as an extension of my hands, and swayed them. Since they were long, flexible, and bow shaped, their movement was inconsistent with my hands. They waved awkwardly, but finally hit the two peppers which rolled sideways, towards the center.

I lay my body out on the floor in various resting positions.  For example – I lay on my side, my knees bent towards me, my arms collected on to my chest, palms wrapped within each other and relaxed. I prolonged each position for about two minutes. I walked on my knees, with torso straight, the distance of 3 white isolation tapes from the top line, to the helmet. I picked the two zucchinis which were joined with a twig, out of the helmet. I held the zucchini in my open palms and showed it to the audience. I moved, the distance of about six lines before the front edge, on my knees, and placed the zucchini on the floor. I walked back to the helmet, and pulled out two twigs with green and blue paint containers tied to each. I descended to a crawling position, and progressed, on my stomach, with the twigs held upwards, until I reached the zucchini. As I Lay on my stomach I pierced one zucchini with the twig with the blue paint container, and then I pierced the second zucchini with the twig with the green paint container. The zucchinis had two protruding twigs leaning slightly sideways with the green and blue open containers. /Crouching by the helmet I took out the onion and rolled it on the floor, briskly, towards the audience, and then, immediately, I took the potato out and placed it on a white line or in the space between two lines next to the helmet. I took the twig with the black paint out of the helmet, and pierced it into the potato. The potato stood in front of the helmet with a twig protruding out of it and an open black paint container bending it slightly. / I picked up the big tomato with both hands, and showed it to the audience. I held the tomato with one hand, and with the other I pulled out the twig with the red paint container and pierced the tomato. With the tomato in my palm, the juice dripping, and with my other hand holding the tilting twig, I walked to the front and anchored the dissembled tomato with the twig with the red paint container, in front of the audience, between the two isolation tape lines. I had to place a few of the stones inside the tomato and beside it, in order to anchor the twig and the paint which still remained in it.

I took the infant`s white shirt out of the helmet and spread it out on the floor. It was white but soiled with brown, green and yellow stains. I took the lemon out of the helmet, I placed it beside the white infant’s shirt. I took the twig with the yellow paint, and pierced it into the lemon.

I got up and walked to where the audience was seated and looked at the floor with the white taped lines and the zucchini, lemon, potato, discarded onion, disheveled tomato, tilted helmet, and the twigs anchored with the colored containers. / I walked to another part of the space, where the audience was seated, and looked, from another angle, at the floor with the white isolation lines and the zucchini, lemon, potato, discarded onion, disheveled tomato, tilted helmet and the twigs anchored in the vegetables and fruits. / I walked to a third point of view where the audience was not seated and looked at the floor with the white isolation lines and the zucchini, lemon, potato, discarded onion, disheveled tomato, tilted helmet and the twigs anchored in the vegetables and fruits.

From among the audience, I lay on my stomach, facing the lined space, my hands spread open and forward. I pulled my body and entered the white lines shoveling the components of the installation, as my body encountered them, in between my arms. The twigs tumbled, the paint spilled, the zucchini, potato, lemon, and onion rolled, the tomato was dismembered, the stones and the infant`s shirt were blended into the confused heap. Across the floor there were traces of red, black, yellow, green, and blue paint.

I walked back to where the audience was seated and I looked at the soiled floor, with the white isolation tape lines, the twigs tumbled, the paint spilled, the zucchini, potato, lemon, onion all rolled, the tomato was dismembered, the stones and the infant`s shirt were blended into the confused heap. Across the floor there were traces of red, black, yellow, green, and blue paint. /I took the white shirt, infant`s size, out of disheveled pile. I spread the shirt out on the floor, its sleeves to the sides. I lay beside the shirt with my eyes shut. / I slid 30 cm away, and placed the white shirt on my thighs. I then lay on my back. I lifted myself up just enough to reach out for 2 stones and then I lay down again. I placed the shirt on my thighs and placed one stone on it, I held the other and placed my hand beside my body.

I got up on my knees and pulled the helmet towards my head. / I placed the infant`s shirt by my feet and as many stones I could get my hands on, beside it. / I stood up and pulled my trousers down, to my knees. I bent down and thrust my chest forwards and down towards the floor. I held my face inside the helmet. My backside protruded in the direction of the audience. / With my face in the helmet, my two hands holding it, I began singing. It was “Zemer Zemer Lach”, a song that I had sung in a high rolling voice as a young girl at school: “A song for you my country; the circle goes round for you; the song speaks to you”. But now, my voice was expelled from the deep part of my stomach to the floor, where my face was stooped, causing it to bounce in staccato from the tiles into the air. I then raised my head and let the thinned softened melodic words, describing the dancing on the mountainous flower pastures that had once been a desert, swivel through the narrow passage of my outstretched throat.

If an injustice had not been made then Daniel Davis would have still been a verbal, healthy, productive person which I could continue to adore and quarrel with. Danny, my life companion, was an army casualty, and somehow I found this situation also poetic – This performance is about “Poetic License”.