Patriarchy is History (2019)

Yael Bartana’s neon work Patriarchy is History, is composed of a simple declaration, spread on two by two meters and shining in bright blue.

This work confronts viewers with a factual statement that belongs to a potential future or an alternative present. Unlike a ‘re-enactment’ in which a historical event is recreated or restaged, Bartana creates ‘pre-enactments’ in which she visualizes, stages and declares seemingly impossible futures. Simultaneously, her work resonates with an already ongoing, real and not imaginary global movement that promotes the reevaluation of predominant social structures.

Patriarchy is History is another outcome of the artist’s ongoing interdisciplinary project What if Women Ruled the World? (2017–present) in which possible alternatives to a world dominated by men are explored. What If Women Ruled The World? was on show at Garage Rotterdam previously.