Rosario ArÓstegui

stage I - Tel Aviv, Israel

Artport Art Residency

Between September and November 2022, the artist took part in a three-month experimental art residency at Artport in Tel Aviv, Israel. The city became the main starting point of her artistic Urban–Nature Project. Tel Aviv’s diversity and its complex relationship with historical narratives provided a strong source of inspiration for the development of the work.

During the residency, she cycled around the city, photographing different neighbourhoods, gardens, and natural spaces, while also collecting objects, sounds, and materials. These explorations laid the conceptual and material foundation of the project.

At the end of the residency, an exhibition was held at her atelier at Artport with the participation of the artist and film maker Carolina Boettner.

Written Experiences - “My Trace”

Tel Aviv caught me by surprise. A place full of everything. People, energy, cars, motors, bicycles, food, coffee shops, restaurants, and music, all mixed with improvised cardboard beds, garbage, plastic, cigarette filters, paper, and metals - an architectural test tube, a modern city where years of history and events intersect.

My exploration started on the day I landed in the city. Walking along the supermarket corridors with no idea what to buy or how much things cost - a blind trial and error process, using the logo or picture in the packages as reference.

For a week, I took the time to explore the space, gather material, and see what happens. How can I combine my work with a place that until recently was unknown to me? An exploration where what I learned in my history and geography lessons in school, and what I have heard and read are mixed. An “objective” view influenced by my life in Argentina, my history, and my perspective. A look from outside into Tel Aviv and inside oneself.

Crossing paths drawn by invisible filaments that create a network sometimes broken. A world where consumption and waste link its inhabitants and are an invisible connection of stories, experiences, and personal lives.

My development is challenging to decide. Days of non-linear, dynamic, and twisted paths. A fresh personal start in a millennial place. An opportunity to recalibrate, redefine, and search for routes with no final destination. I think of a relationship map, a network that I form between my impressions, bicycle kilometres, stops, and found objects that cross my way and call my attention.

I might leave TLV with many unknowns in multiple directions. But something is for sure, after this trip, I know that my luggage should have been different. As always, learning by doing and thinking one could have done some things better.