The Phantoms of District 9

The Phantoms of District 9

Supported by the Municipal Conservation Department, Eastern Planning Division, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality.

Phantoms are places that used to exist but no longer do, yet they continue to evoke pain even after disappearing from their surroundings. This concept originated in medicine and inspired artist Nitzan Cohen to produce video works documenting the spatial memory of District 9 – Tel Aviv's eastern neighborhoods. The exhibition offers a glimpse into one chapter of a three-year research process that examines the material culture reflected in the architecture and buildings of District 9 and its intangible, often invisible or immeasurable, values.

The term Genius loci – "spirit of place" – refers to the totality of sensations, contexts, and identities comprising a particular location's unique essence: culture, tradition, atmosphere, people, community, architecture, vegetation, climate, etc. In 2011, UNESCO defined historic urban landscape (HUL) as an area where intangible heritage, including the "spirit of place," is recognized as a vital component of preserving urban fabric.

"The question of how to capture, define, and express the essence of a place became the foundation of my research," Cohen explains. "Equipped with a video camera and curiosity, I began my journey to explore Tel Aviv's eastern neighborhoods via its people and their stories. It soon became evident that the number of narratives matched the number of residents. Yet, one recurring theme emerged: the places that no longer exist – those that have been destroyed, faded away, or forgotten – continue to resonate in the hearts and imaginations of those who grew up around them. Sometimes, people spoke of these places as if they still existed, and at other times, as though they were a limb severed from the body. The connection to these places has never diminished."

Phantom pain is a medical term that describes the very real sensation of pain in a limb that no longer exists – an amputated leg, a severed hand. The brain continues transmitting these signals as if the missing part were still there, alerting us to its absence while simultaneously making it felt. During the documentation process, this phenomenon offered a lens through which to view District 9 as a body and its buildings and sites as limbs, each in various stages of dissolution, disappearance, or transformation.
The residents' collective memory functions as a brain of sorts, preserving the map of urban limbs, even when the original structure or site no longer exists. Memory, associations, and the bodily experience of the place create a new mechanism that continues to function even when the physical is absent.
The phantom pains of these neighborhoods linger in memory, sometimes through active memory agents and at other times through echoes that inadvertently stick to the place. They continue to activate, evoke, and ignite emotion. They are not only present in the past but also exist in a continuous present of a presence that is slowly fading away.

The exhibition features video works that document seven phantom sites chosen as test cases for analyzing the phenomenon: the first broadcasting station in Tel Haim, the architectural fabric of the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, Hatikva Cinema, Bnei Yehuda Stadium, the Policewoman's Garden in the Ezra neighborhood, the Sheikh's tomb in Kfar Shalem, and the historic trade route connecting Kfar Salame to the Hatikva market.

The videos highlight what is absent – the memory that continues to impact residents' lives. It forms a layer from extensive research revealing District 9, the eastern part of the city, its heritage, and its future direction.
The research that generated the exhibited works was commissioned by architects Jeremie Hoffmann and Adi Roz from the Conservation Department, Eastern Planning Division, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. It was carried out by a team led by architect and artist Roy Fabian, which included Merav Aharon Gutman, Ruth Avraham, Amir Balaban, and Shira Grossbard. Nitzan Cohen, acting as a documentary creator, joined to research and document the intangible heritage of the district's neighborhoods.