Neta Fischer | Use of Calm
2025 | video | 5:18 min
She appears as if suddenly awakened: tired, in pajamas and socks, clutching a pillow. On the sloped surface of a public shelter, she attempts to fall back asleep, climbing repeatedly only to slide backward each time. The repetitive movement recalls childhood games, yet here it becomes charged with relentless effort that never achieves rest. The shelter – an unremarkable fixture of public space – embodies a state of perpetual alertness. Through a body seeking to lay down its head where no repose is possible, the work sharpens the tension between protection and rest. In the context of protest, it stages a direct encounter between the body and a charged environment, examining what the body can endure when rest becomes impossible – in a sustained state of vigilance and unsettledness.