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Alona Rodeh "Safe and Sound" @ Grimmuseum in Berlin Is A Dark Ode to Israel's Iron Dome

For her solo show at Grimmuseum, Alona Rodeh is presenting the fourth and final episode of her exhibition series Safe and Sound. The first was a large-scale sound and light installation linking club culture and safety regulations in architecture, presented at Künstlerhaus Bethanien; the second presented a variation on the same project at Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. The third episode—currently on view—is a multichannel sound work and a monumental homage to the notorious Israeli "Iron dome” at Petach Tikva Museum of Art. The last episode, at Grimmuseum, is the most abstract of them all. Issues of vandalism, security and law enforcement were present in the artist’s previous works but, since moving to Berlin two summers ago, she has been closely following the local (as well as general) boost in various audiovisual methods of safety and security in the city, and their adaptations into popular and subcultural aesthetics. Taking an informal path, her investigations reached deep into questions of involuntary reactions to origin and skin tone, the nature of being alarmed, the unwritten borders of authorities’ control, effectivity of pro-active self protection, social hierarchy of personal safety and more. Safe and Sound will be on view until October 17, 2015 at Grimmuseum in Berlin.