Light to the Nations / Farewell, 2024

Farewell portrays a ceremony preceding the departure of the generation ship Light to the Nations, destined for distant galaxies. With a journey transcending the boundaries of time and space about to begin, the ceremony is designed to observe this separation from Earth.

The dancers in Farewell evoke a sense of longing and anticipation as their ethereal movements navigate the liminal space between our world and the unknown. Dressed as sylphs, they allude to the spirit of Romanticism and 
its explorations of human transformation and the supernatural. Bartana also draws from the Labanotation, a system developed by choreographer Rudolf von Laban in the early twentieth century. Laban’s style of expressionistic dance combined collective and ritualistic movement 
in a way that echoes Bartana’s own engagement with social themes. As the video unfolds, Bartana’s lens transports viewers beyond the confines of Earth to the vast expanse of space, where the generation ship, Light to the Nations, floats in the cosmic void. The ship emerges as a messianic vessel, a promise of redemption, and the dancers mirror the kinetic movement of the ship as well as the human endeavor behind it.

Towards the ceremony’s climax, the dancers put on animal masks — a horse, a donkey, and a ram — evoking apocalyptic imagery and connecting to the Judeo-Christian messianic narrative woven throughout Bartana’s work. Farewell’s pre-enactment of an ecstatic dance becomes a visceral exploration of looming catastrophe and hope.

The forest setting reflects Light to the Nations’ imperative to grant nature a chance for rejuvenation. The ceremony marks humanity’s parting from Earth and its journey toward salvation, underscoring the interconnectedness of utopia and catastrophe. Farewell envisions
 a departure toward realities yet unknown to humankind.

Special Thanks to:

Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Zurich Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milano 
Petzel Gallery, New York
Capitain Petzel, Berlin
Cecilia Hillström Gallery, Stockholm
ARTIS
Mondriaan Fonds