Blood will turn into water, 2024, installation view at BioBAT Art Space, Brooklyn, New York, metal, mirrors, water, ink, ink and colored pencils on transparent Mylar, two drawings each 18 yards long
Keren Anavy creating a site-specific installation that reminiscent an artificial aquatic garden from paintings and industrial materials. Suspended from the ceiling, groupings of abstract paintings on translucent Mylar reflect in the mirrors and dip into shallow metals pools of ink and water, creating an architectural structure together with the round video projection on the opposite wall and transform the space into an insular, imagined environment.
With mark-making that incorporates deliberation and the element of chance, Anavy considers the relationship between decision-making and the natural and unexpected processes that occurs in a garden – a cultivated landscape.
Sources of inspiration for Anavy’s paintings include the red color of the Hibiscus flower, stripped down to its most abstract form. Anavy’s process begins by placing Mylar on the floor and creating gestural marks with water on the surface. She then injects ink into the water—allowing mixtures to form organically—and adds colored pencil to the composition. The ink and the water in the pools is slowly absorbed by the Mylar paintings throughout the exhibition. It is a work in motion that require during the exhibition period, water the metal pools as in real garden.
Anavy’s artificial garden references hanging Chinese scrolls and the longing for an imagined territory, such as the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Anavy explores the meanings and purposes of gardens as sites of reflection and retreat.
The color and texture of the hibiscus in Anavy’s abstract painting evoke associations with human flesh. The work emerged from a profound personal loss; however, it serves as a garden of memory that explores themes of mourning and the hope for new life and growth through water, as it expresses in the title of the installation: Blood Will Turn into Water, inspired by a line from the song ‘Sorry’ on Karine Polwart’s album This Earthly Spell.
Anavy draws on the hibiscus species in her work, particularly the Chinese hibiscus—a common flower that migrates from tropical countries and symbolizes a complex relationship with water. While the hibiscus thrives in the artist’s homeland, with its warm Mediterranean climate, it has specific water needs, which can be challenging in arid regions like the Middle East.
The hibiscus flower carries rich symbolism and diverse meanings across different cultures. In ancient Egypt, for example, it was associated with the goddess Hathor, the goddess of maternity, and symbolized femininity, fertility, and motherhood. It is also used in herbal teas and for medicinal purposes. Beyond specific cultures, the hibiscus often represents beauty, love, and passion due to its vibrant.
I Wish I had a River, 2021, installation view at BioBAT Art Space, Brooklyn, New York, video installation single channel, duration: 5:24 minutes in a loop,
The video is based on ink and colored pencil paintings on transparent Mylar fused with video footage from water channels in New York City. The work refers to the connection between nature and urbanity. Anavy created this video as part of her research about the history of water in New York City. The work was first projected as an outdoor public art site-specific installation on Times Square billboards (by ZAZ10TS Gallery), which honored the 19th century New York’s biggest reservoir that was one avenue east from the projection on 42nd Street where Bryant Park and the New York Public Library stand today.
*The reservoir built in between 1839 and 1842, The Croton Distributing Reservoir, also known as the Murray Hill Reservoir, was an above-ground reservoir. It supplied the city with drinking water during the 19th century. Atop its massive granite Egyptian-style walls, was a public promenade offering panoramic views. The reservoir was torn down in the 1890s.
The video, which Anavy calls ‘Painting in Motion’, raises questions about art in public spaces and the concept of movement, exploring the connection between a bustling public environment and the meditative flow of water. The way the video subtly integrates with her red paintings installation in Water Stories is reminiscent of the moon’s image, offering the viewer a chance to pause and surrender to the movement of colors and water.