Jonathan Ron, You Were Missed 2.0, 2021/2024

Jonathan Ron (B. 1987)

You Were Missed 2.0, 2021/2024

Performative sound installation

Jonathan Ron’s sound installation was born in 2021 out of the artist’s search for something that was missing. What can arise out of conversations between two strangers catalyzed by an experience of absence and a search for ways to understand and address it? During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ron hung notices throughout Tel Aviv-Jaffa that all bore the caption “You Are Missed,” alongside his personal phone number. This action led to conversations between the artist and total strangers. Ron spoke to the callers without knowing who they were, while they had no idea who they were calling. In listening to these conversations, we can note that their open, attentive and humorous spirit allowed for the revelation of fears and struggles, while forming human connections during a period of social isolation. In encouraging both sides to suspend social biases and prejudices and listen with empathy, these conversations invite those listening to them in the gallery to participate in the same experience.

In the post-October 7 reality, in which Israeli society, and the urban sphere in particular, are pervaded by signs of those who are missing, we invited Ron to return to these conversations. In the midst of a personal and collective experience marked by a deep absence, the appeal “You are missed” is charged with new and painful meanings. The structure of Ron’s installation invites us to come together, thus offering the audience an experience that is at once personal and communal. The experience of listening to intimate conversations between total strangers in an imaginary city square fosters emotional openness and the possibility of an empathic dialogue in the midst of the difficult reality imposed on Israeli society.

This work was realized thanks to the support of Outset Israel Contemporary Art Fund.