For a long time, Etti Abergel has been tracing marks on paper –
erased lines, scribbles, letters, arabesques…When I first visited
her studio, the blackened papers engaged my emotions. Attracted
by the small formats, I found no suitable word to designate them
except “excitement.” The hours of work required to arrive at
the seemingly simple or intertwined lines pale in comparison
to the emotional narrative arising from the drawings: the story
of parents arriving by sea from Morocco to Israel in the 1950s,
with the hope of reaching a Garden of Eden upon disembarking
in Haifa in the Holy Land. Abergel heard this story in fragments,
mentioned by an uncle or grandfather, opening a window onto
a world of emotions, seemingly raw and unprocessed, without
decoration, exaggeration, explanation or interpretation.
Abergel’s statements and the accompanying drawings are
infinitely stronger than any detailed narrative. Her statements
tell much more than all the books, feature films or documentaries
on these chapters of Jewish history. They express the innocence
and the sincerity of the new immigrants, their yearning for a
world which we have forgotten, and their hope of the ideal. Etti
Abergel is no witness at a trial, takes no part in any complaint
or sentimental emotionality, but traps these moments with her
emphatic lines.
Etti Abergel’s impressions lack extraneous ornamentation,
yet are as rich as can be, modest under the gaze of onlookers. Her
drawings recreate the very moment at which the experiences are
taking place, in all their force and their presence, as if nothing
has changed over the years. The act of drawing makes it possible
to return to the very moment of making these statements. The
power of these impressions lies in their capacity to penetrate
beyond time and return to the heart of the emotions lying behind
the words, as if re-finding the experience that took place at that
very moment, and restoring the simple, abstract words from
the covering with which Time has enveloped them. I do not
know through what winding path Etti Abergel has succeeded
in demonstrating this rare talent, but I tend to believe that she
possesses the extraordinary ability to link up to the very heart of
emotions.
The construction of warp and woof, her loading of the other
details and structures that she adds to her work are none other
than the strands drawn out of this exposed kernel.
Michaël Sebban, writer and philosopher, lives in
Paris and Jerusalem.
from: Installation Diary, Etti Abergel