Video, 6 min 48 sec, looped, 2021

The raw material for the video work The Letter (Sleeper) is a letter written by Anita Warburg, a cousin of the artist's grandmother, upon her return to Hamburg for the first time since she left Germany following the Nazis’ rise to power. Hila Laviv intended to dramatize the letter, and to that end sorted the details mentioned in it into seven themes – cast, site, time, objects, comments, dining and wellness, audio, and regulations - and then classified each word in the letter accordingly. She proceeded to attach to each theme a matching image from the family's summer house. Thus, when a word related to time is mentioned, an image of the view will appear; when a word related to cast is mentioned, an image of the fireplace will appear, and so forth, according to the following key: 

Cast–Fireplace, Site–Staircase, Time–View, Objects–Table, Comments–Open-Air Amphitheater, Dining and Wellness–Pool, Audio–Lawn, Regulations–Roman Terrace

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Credits:

Narrator: Sofia Berg-Böhm  |  Video Editing: David Shushan  |  Site Photos: Dana Lev Levnat