KINGDOM OF SHADOWS
Recording of live performance, sound, color, 11’ 20”, 2021 (Israel)
Created by Amir Yatziv
Actors: Neta Shpigelman, Eliya Tsuchida
Computer graphics: Yuliya Bogonos
Courtesy of the Artist and Galleria Laveronica
Three avatars are auditioning for the role of a video game character under the vigilant eyes of a Japanese game designer. A human actor, wearing a motion-capture suit, executes a set of actions in real life that are simultaneously performed by her virtual counterpart on a giant screen. Spectators see both. Conceived and produced by Amir Yatziv, this live performance blurs the lines that traditionally separate theater from digital gaming and invites viewers to consider the porosity between reality and simulation. Inspired by the romantic encounter of two characters in Final Fantasy, Kingdom of Shadows investigates changing notions of identity, performance, and communication in a screen-based world.
Born in Israel, Amir Yatziv lives and works in Tel Aviv. After receiving a B.A. in Computer Science at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel, he studied Arts at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. He directed several short films which were often exhibited as art installations as well. Among his solo exhibitions are This is Jerusalem Mr. Pasolini, Petah Tikva Museum of Art, Israel (2013), This is Jerusalem Mr. Pasolini, Galleria Laveronica, Modica, Italy (2012), Antipodes, Ramat-Gan Museum of Art, Tel-Aviv (2010). Group exhibitions include Too early, too late. Middle east and modernity, curated by Marco Scotini, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna (2015), Space Oddity, A capsule exhibition, Kunstverein Nürnberg, Germany (2014), La guerra che verrà non è la prima, 1914-2014, MaRT, Rovereto (2014), Recalculating Route, 4 Mediations Biennale, Poznan (2014), CounterIntelligence, Hart House, curated by Charles Stankievech, University of Toronto, Canada (2014), Time Pieces, Nordstern Videokunstzentrum, curated by Marius Babias and Kathrin Becker, Gelsenkirchen, Germany (2014), Measure for Measure, curated by Drorit gur-arie and Hila Cohen-Schneiderman, Petah Tikva Museum of Art, Israel (2014), Give Us The Future, curated by Frank Wagner, n.b.k Berlin, Germany (2014), Artists’ Film International, Whitechapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom (2014), Multiplicity, NURTUREart, curated by Marco Antonini and Hila Cohen- Schneiderman, New York (2014).
