A wall reading »I am Isaak/Ismail« in several languages to the right and projected images of young peoples' faces to the lefte left

Obedience

An Installation in 15 Rooms by Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway

The story of the patriarch Abraham, who is prepared to obey God's command to sacrifice his son, is one of the most puzzling episodes of the Bible. That is ample reason to dedicate an exhibition to the "Binding of Isaac," as the passage is known in Jewish tradition. In Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, it is among the most significant and most popular stories and among the first that were ever depicted. And yet the three monotheistic religions offer very different answers to the questions that the passage raises to this day.

Past exhibition

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The Old Building is marked in green

Where

Old Building, level 1
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin

Where, when, what?

Trailer for the exhibition

The Curators' Interpretation

In the exhibition, British film director Peter Greenaway and multimedia artist Saskia Boddeke portray the sacrifice of Isaac as a human drama. Which is stronger, God's command or fatherly love? And where is the modern subject situated between the conflicting priorities of obedience and trust?

Taking these questions as their starting point, Boddeke and Greenaway developed a coherent artistic scenario that approached the biblical narrative subjectively, deconstructed it, and refocused the constituent parts to create an emotionally tangible scenario.

Using film projections, installations, precious objects, and a custom-made own soundtrack, the biblical narrative was staged as a sensory and emotional showpiece in fifteen parts. Its dramatic arc was inspired by the legends of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions and linked with the experiences and issues of our time.

Peter Greenaway

The filmmaker Peter Greenaway was born in Newport, Wales, in 1942. He is married to Saskia Boddeke and lives in Amsterdam and London.

Impressions of the Exhibition

This appeal from Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway was started at the forefront of the exhibition.

An empty room facing two walls, one wall is covered in portrait photos, the other wall is covered in text of various languages — A view of the big film installation I am Isaac/I am Ishmael; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff

The beginning of the exhibition forms a film installation in which children, teenagers, and young adults greet visitors with the words "I am Isaac" or "I am Ishmael." The talking faces should invite them to identify with the childlike protagonists of the biblical narrative.

On the walls of the exhibition rooms there are large-formatted projections of dance scenes with performers from the international dance company "Club Guy & Roni." The dance scenes each illuminate particular aspects of the biblical narrative.

Exhibit space, black and white photographs of hands line the white textured wall, a blue screen lays on the floor — A view into the white room God and the Angel; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff

A view into the white room God and the Angel; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff

Floating sculpture of decapitated fleshy white hands and arms form together to create an replica of feathered wings — The Wings, Xooang Choi, 2008, Oil on synthetic resin, stainless steel; courtesy of Graywall and the artist.

Detailed view of the sculpture The Wings from the white room God and the Angel.
The Wings, Xooang Choi, 2008, Oil on synthetic resin, stainless steel; courtesy of Graywall and the artist.

A red room with one wall covered by a giant projector screen, the screen is showing an image of two women — The Room Sarah and Hagar was devoted to the mothers of Isaac and Ischmael; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

The Room Sarah and Hagar was devoted to the mothers of Isaac and Ischmael; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

A ram is floating in a large glass tank of liquid, the wall opposite the tank projects an image of a ram — In the room The Ram Damien Hirst's Black Sheep with Golden Horns (2009) could be seen; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

In the room The Ram Damien Hirst's Black Sheep with Golden Horns (2009) could be seen; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

Multiple chains, handcuffs, and ropes hang from the ceiling, there is large red text written on the wall below it — The room The Binding makes reference to the so-called binding of Isaac; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

The room The Binding makes reference to the so-called binding of Isaac; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

A man hold the door open to a small isolated room with a smiling woman sitting inside, the outisde of the room is covered in portrait photos — The Video Box I am Isaac/Ismael with Peter Greenaway and Saskia Boddeke; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

The interactive Video Box I am Isaac/Ismael offers visitors to the exhibition the opportunity to take up the position in front of the camera as Isaac or Ishmael themselves. The Video Box should, similar to the film installation at the beginning of the exhibition, encourage visitors to consider the biblical narrative from a new perspective – that of the child, who will become a victim. Peter Greenaway, Saskia Boddeke, and the Video Box, Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Yves Sucksdorff.

Recordings of exhibition visitors from the Video Box I am Isaac/Ismael

Recordings from exhibition visitors from the Video Box I am Isaac/Ismael; more recordings from the Video Box can be found on the
.

Credits & Partners

Team Amsterdam

Directors	Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway
Producer	Annette Mosk
Editor	Elmer Leupen Jacobine van der Kamp
Composer	Luca D'Alberto
Choreographers	Roni Haver Guy Weizman
Director of Photography	Ruzbeh Babol
Calligrapher	Brody Neuenschwander
Second Life Artists	Brynley Longman Jo Esmell Bernard Capitaine aka Iono Allen
Video Designer	Peter Wilms
Sound Designer	Danny Weijermans
Light Designer	Floriaan Ganzevoort Maarten Warmerdam
3D Modeller	Chok Wah Man
Picture Researcher	Willemien Ruys
Set Photographer	Daan van Eijndhoven
Installation Photographer	Igor Mandic
Production support	Lys Bouma
Costume Designer	Willemien Ruys
Make-up Designer	Leonie Schuurman
Prop master	Jeroen Echter
Special Effects	Marten Hoekstra
Food Design	Sabrina Hessels
Actors/Dancers	Hendrik Aerts Roni Haver Zoe Greenaway Stella van Leeuwen Sofiko Nachkebiya Adam Peterson Igor Podsiadly Skip Rijsdijk Yoav Weizman

Team Berlin

Project Management	Margret Kampmeyer-Käding (Curator and Project Manager) Helmuth F. Braun (Director of special exhibitions) Saro Gorgis, Klaus H. Teuschler (Assistance) Anina Falasca, Samuel Zettinig (Research)
Production Planning	KatzKaiser Architekten, Köln/Darmstadt: Marcus Kaiser, Tobias Katz
Production Management	Tobias Katz Matthias Förster
Graphics	Studio Carmen Strzelecki, Köln
Media Engineering	Eidotech, Berlin
Video booth	Realisierung, Softwareentwicklung und Screendesign: DREINULLmotion, Berlin Außengestaltung: buerominimal Projektmanagement: Jihan Radjai, Mirjam Wenzel
Trailer for the exhibition	Compositing & Sound: Sebastian Purfürst, LEM-STUDIOS
Exhibition Construction	D4 Project, Berlin Wolfgang Matzat, Berlin Weisse GmbH Eberswalde Dietz Bauservice GmbH, Berlin
Collection Management	Anna Golus Petra Hertwig Gisela Märtz Katrin Strube
Conservators	Barbara Decker Stephan Lohrengel Adroniki Paliompei Alicija Steczek
Set Up	Fißler und Kollegen GmbH, Halsbrücke
Painting	Marotzke, Berlin
Artistic Surface Design	Mario Kwast Berlin Patrick Gutschmidt Liquid Paint Berlin
Electrical and Light Installation	Viktor Kégli, 50Lux, Berlin
Décor	Manuel Schubbe, Berlin Bärbel Schütz Plastik Berlin
Photo Production	das foto image factory
Graphic Production	Bartneck Print Artists, Berlin repro ringel, Berlin
Exhibition Organization	Peter Dallmann Gunther Giese (Spie GmbH)
Transport	Crown Fine Art GmbH Frankfurt
Design of Advertising Campaign	e o t . essays on typography Lilla Hinrichs + Anna Sartorius
Marketing	Katrin Möller Sascha Perkins Gesine Tyradellis
Press	Jennifer Berndt Katharina Schmidt-Narischkin Sylvia Winkler
Online Editors	Mariette Franz Alice Lanzke Mirjam Wenzel
Editorial Staff Publications of the Museum	Christine Marth Marie Naumann
Construction Team	Anna Augustin Detlef Barrach Mike Bindschädel Michalina Cieslicki Milena Fernando Mariette Franz Miriam Goldmann Lea Heckel Liron Herlinger Julia Jokel André Küter Alexa Kürth Jacob Lippold Peter Litzroth Karla Marsiske Vivienne Noda-Bautista Berrit Pöppelmeier Mareike Poppinga Paul Rehfeldt Glafira Silvestrova Ulrike Sonnemann Oliver Stratz Ann-Christin Wachtel

Exhibition Information at a Glance

When
22 May to 15 Nov 2015
Where
Old Building, level 1
Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin
See Location on Map

With the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin

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Blog Entries on the Exhibition Obedience: An Installation

Interviews, recordings from the video box, impressions of the exhibition

Blog

Creating Obedience (cancelled)

Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway (page in German)

Podium Discussion
24 June 2015

Obedience

Advanced training for teachers in the context of the exhibition (in German)

Continuing Education
2 June 2015

"Kill Me a Son!"

A Symposium about Abraham, Isaac, and Ismael. Recording of the opening event (in German)

Video-Recording
3–4 Sep 2015

Exhibition Catalog

Publication

Monday Movies for the Exhibition: Obedience: A 15-Room Installation by Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway (4)

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Obedience: A 15-Room Installation by Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway

Films related to the exhibition theme, screened at the Jewish Museum Berlin during the exhibition

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