A bizarre sight appears before travelers on Road 40 going from Beersheba to Mitzpe Ramon, like something from a sci-fi movie: in the heart of the desert stands a tall tower, at its top – bright, blinding light. The tower is part of the Ashalim thermo-solar plant for renewable energy. Surrounding it are hundreds of large mirrors that direct the sun’s rays to the enormous water tank at its top. A few years after the tower was erected, it transpired that the plant was not economically efficient and caused unexpected ecological damage. Now, the tower remains standing, blazing evidence of human failure.
The video Ashalim is the first work Laufer created with a drone
camera. The drone rises to the sky and glides slowly, the wind whispering in its flight. A few minutes into the video, we understand that the drone is heading toward the tower and a sense of dread seeps into the glorious desert landscape. Like a moth drawn to fire or Icarus, who dared fly too close to the sun, the drone approaches the terrible light and disappears into the glaring white.
Unlike most of Laufer’s works, Ashalim was shot in daylight, in color, and has no animals. The video is shot from a bird’s eye view – mimicking one of the thousands of birds who died from the scorching heat produced by the plant. Beside the video is a series of still photographs shot with a thermal camera that translates the heat levels into bold, saturated colors.
written by: Mira Lapidot
