YEHEZKEL LAZAROV

No Lifeguard​

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The 38 years old Yoel visits the beach to which his parents used to take him when he was a child. He brings along with him a parasol, some beach chairs and a picnic cooler, just like his parents used to do. Upon his arrival to the familiar spot, Yoel is overwhelmed by the memory of past experiences, which brings to life distant events as he approaches the water. Down there,

passes the man selling popsicles. Through his appearance, Yoel’s memories transform into those of his mother.

No Lifeguard is a return to the crime scene, the place in which patterns were formed and mechanisms of behavior were taught, passed from parent to child through imitation. Yoel was driven to the beach by nostalgia, as paying tribute to his past, yet this return to the origins enables descending into the depths of memory. This investigation exposes the large gap

existing between childhood experiences as they left their mark in Yoel’s memory, and the actual events as they occurred. Each step forward in this personal account creates new, independent memories, which in turn will disconnect from its origins and doubt the very possibility of remembered truth. Idealisation and sublimation function as a tool to help adults carry on living

on the one hand, and on the other - to plunge into their past. When the body is being victimized, obliviousness serves as a lifeguard.