A process of wrapping followed by the necessity of unfolding is at
the center of Etti Abergel’s work.
The physical use of covering materials – fabrics, strings,
masking tape, cardboard, cement and plaster – implies
awareness of the versatile nuances dormant in these otherwise
mute materials. The felt experience evoked by materials is crucial
to Abergel’s visual vocabulary.
In her continuous attempt to wring an impact from such
basic elements, Abergel relies on close reference to childhood
experiences and their transformation in memory over time in
a way not far removed from the computer process of “wrapping
around,” referring to the ability to treat a linear sequence of
memory locations as a continuous circular series. This is the
equivalent of the physical realization of her work. Any attempt,
therefore, to designate a linear progression in understanding her
work is certain to fail. The fragile balance of materials, associations
and time creates a potential of various possible “meanings.”
Decoding Abergel’s work requires acute awareness of the
unseen: the substitution of white paint for color, which has
the effect of obscuring the contours of the physical presences
beneath, is an immediate example. These “erasures” turn out to
be analogous to intervals in music, mute yet significant silences
necessary to provide sound with both meaning and interpretation.
In a similar sense, this blurring of contours forces the viewer to
pause in viewing in order to complete, or make sense of the form
being contemplated, in the mind’s eye.
Abergel’s frequent use of erasure is closely related to the use of
time in its mundane, ordinary sense, the long time invested in
arriving at a starting point, “zero hour,” the orientation point,
of knowing how to proceed. This investment of time does not
“count” and is considered erased. This increases our awareness
of the essential part such time plays in each and every person’s
life. A key issue is the underlying realization of processes in
both formal and conceptual terms alongside of each other, while
neither is superior to the other.
“Potential” is a key word in the process of her work, and
refers to something yet to be actualized. Etti Abergel’s work
veers between future, present and past, weaving a loose net
of connections between obvious poles, encapsulating energy,
associations and tones. She fabricates all these into a network of
echoes of recollection, an archive of semi-forgotten and yet-tobe-
forgotten moments.
Dr. Vered Zafran is the curator of the Tel Aviv Artists’ Studios
from: Installation Diary, Etti Abergel