REINCARNATION

Concept and creation: Soof Nikritin & Natalie Afriat

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October 7th, 2023 marked a point of no return for us—as Israelis, Jews, women, and artists. The attack and the war that followed profoundly shaped our lives and became the starting point of Reincarnation. Returning to a residency in Düsseldorf in November 2023, amid fear and uncertainty at home, we found ourselves emotionally and physically unable to create. From this paralysis, a series of still images slowly emerged, haunted by the stories of women whose freedom, dignity, and lives were taken. Alongside grief, we carried a deep sense of guilt and an acute awareness of the privilege of safety and bodily freedom.

Reincarnation became a visceral reflection on the female body—vulnerable, violated, and repeatedly weaponized, yet expected to remain composed and contained. Drawing on trauma research, particularly Yochai Ataria’s writing on collective trauma, we explored how silenced experiences can surface through other bodies. Using long-exposure photography, we captured blurred motion and subtle shifts that revealed raw emotional states. These images formed the foundation of a video dance—a hybrid medium where choreography, sound, and visual art merge into a metaphysical journey between loss, survival, captivity, and embodied memory.

We propose to continue developing Reincarnation through three interconnected dimensions:
Spiritual and Abstract, where the body appears as a vessel for the soul through ritualistic imagery and X-ray–like visuals;
Inherited Female Rituals, focusing on intergenerational practices such as hair braiding as gestures of care, resilience, and silent solidarity;
and Artistic Lineage in Dance, exploring reincarnation through embodied knowledge passed down by our teachers. This includes a tribute to Gertrud Kraus—pioneering dancer, founder of Ein Hod—whose artistic legacy lives on in our movement and creative process, bridging past and present through embodied memory.

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The project is currently on view at Art Gallery Ein Hod as part of the exhibition Ruach Kluah (Braided Spirit) and will remain exhibited through April 2026. The exhibition brings together works that explore the body as a site of memory, trauma, ritual, and transformation across media including video, performance, photography, sculpture, and choreography. Reincarnation is presented within this context as a video dance that engages with embodied experience, intergenerational knowledge, and the transmission of spirit through movement and image. The exhibition is curated by Zeela Kotler Hadari and Almog Gaz.