January 14, 1994

Chuck Twardy Staff writer

The Banished Son
A collaborative installation at Artspace examines issues relating to the biblical story of Ishmael, including a new political spin.
  

RALEIGH

Ishmael come home.

When Yasser Arafat and Itzhak Rabin shook hands at the White House, they not only took the first step toward the possible rapprochement between ancient enemies, they lent a new spin to the biblical story of Abraham's banished son. They also provided a new context for an installation at Artspace by artists Mickey Gault and Andrea Gomez.

The pair had planned to explore themes of odyssey and alienation in their collaborative exhibition, "Ishmael in the Wilderness," but politics intruded.

"After 4,000 years, it's like these two sons are coming back together," said Gomez.

Peace between Moslems, the descendants of Ishmael, and Jews, the descendants of Isaac, could mark a symbolic return for the banished son of Abraham. Accordingly, the Triangle Israeli Folk Dancers and the Palestinian Folk Dancers will perform at the reception for "Ishmael in the Wilderness," Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Artspace.

In addition, a slate of lectures and discussions is planned for the next five Sundays at Artspace.

This is pretty heady stuff, even considering that the two artists read a variety of deep themes into the story of Ishmael, whom Abraham fathered with his wife Sarah's Egyptian hand-maiden, Hagar. Sarah's subsequent fertility in old age and jealously for Isaac, her son, drives her to provoke Abraham's banishment of Hagar and Ishmael. This plows a fertile field for age-old and

contemporary themes, ranging from the psychological to the philosophical.

"One of them that did not come to either of our minds was political," said Gomez.

Then came the handshake, and the annual "Artist Proposal Show" at Artspace suddenly took on political dimension. Gault and Gomez enthusiastically embraced this development, but they hope it will not overwhelm the other contexts they sought to evoke. Among them is the journeys of life.

"All of my work in the past couple of years has to do with personal journey," said Gault.

Appropriately, the installation is something of a journey in itself. The visitor enters the gallery, painted deep blue for the occasion, and reads a wall panel detailing the biblical tale. Next, the visitor confronts two mixed media scrolls by Gomez depicting Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness, then proceeds through a portal suggested by two jackal-headed sculptures by Gault representing male and female versions of the Egyptian god, Anubis, who leads the dead to judgment. The sculptures act, said Gault, "as a message you are going into another space."

In this space, the floor is covered with sand, as is a mound representing an archaeological tell in the center of the gallery. The visitor circuits this mound, passing sculptures and paintings. Abraham is depicted in a Gault clay sculpture covered with color reproductions of news articles and photos -- photos of Rabin and Arafat cover the hands. Ishmael is imagined as a centaur in plain clay; a fortuitous crack in the firing of the piece became a symbolic wound on the figure. Two Madonna-l ike sculptures by Gault contrast Hagar with Ishmael and Sarah with Isaac. Layers of colorful encaustic, she said, recall "ancient remnants of royal carpet." Two translucent scrolls by Gomez depict Hagar and Ishmael in their wilderness journey.

On the far wall, at the middle of the journey, the artists have erected "The Wall of Unforgotten Dreams" from Surewall, a type of plaster. Their intent was to suggest The Wailing Wall, and they hope visitors will leave messages describing their dreams in its cracks.

In the next corner, artist Linda Gibson has installed "Grace," a pink-and-blue, neon-lit, wood- and Plexiglas-framed void that suggests a gaze into a tunnel of infinity. The wavy edges lend a vibrant energy to the image. Gibson described the piece as "sensual, not sexual," a transcendent experience of a generative source.

(from Hagar's Eyes)" is a massive, threatening form, seen from below. Hagar (from Abraham's Eyes)" depicts the teenage hand-maiden on the floor, her frightened face reflected in a goblet. Gomez hints at the cinematic convention of

"point-of-view" in this pairing.

"Wellspring in the Wilderness" is a framed, pastel triptych by Gomez on the last wall, depicting in fiery tones the wellspring that appears to sustain Ishmael.

Ishmael thus survives his abandonment ordeal, and he spawns many descendants. History's journey appears to be reuniting him with his brother.

###What: "Ishmael in the Wilderness."

When: Saturday through Sunday, Feb. 20. Reception Saturday, 6-9 p.m.

Where: Artspace, 201 E. Davie St., Raleigh.