Nira Pereg's interest in the economy of spaces belonging to a sacred sphere, in visualized paradoxes, in the transitory within the eternal, and the profane inside the sacred, led her to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.  In Judaism, it is considered to be a most sacred site, second only to the Temple Mount. The Cave of the Patriarchs, or the Ibrahimi Mosque, is also revered by Muslims. Since the Baruch Goldstein Massacre in 1994, in which Muslim worshippers were murdered and injured, the cave has been physically divided so that Jewish and Muslims worshippers are strictly kept apart within the shrine.

After the massacre the Israeli government assigned a special committee to issue protocols to allow for time and space sharing of the site. The work Abraham Abraham Sarah Sarah follows one of these protocols.

     Ten times a year, in accordance with special holidays and under close Israeli military control, the cave passes hands for 24 hours only, enabling each side to have full use of all the chambers of the cave. Abraham Abraham and Sarah Sarah are two videos that follow a unique event of a temporary "change of hands". The work Abraham Abraham follows such a "switch" on the occasion of a Muslim holiday in July 2012. In a matter of hours, the Jewish area is cleared out of all Jewish artifacts, inspected by the army and stands vacant for a few short moments before the Muslims enter with their own artifacts and turn the empty rooms into a mosque for the next 24 hours.

     The work Sarah Sarah mirrors such "switch" on the occasion of Jewish event at the cave. Similarly, the Muslim area is cleared out of its artifacts, inspected by the Israeli army and within a few hours the Jewish believers enter with their own artifacts and turn the empty rooms into a synagogue for the next 24 hours. Filmed months apart, these two works closely reflect each other. They have the same length and the same symmetrical structure, pivoting on the opening of the door connecting/separating the two spaces. Abraham Abraham and Sarah Sarah depict the two sides of these unique periodical events. These temporary evacuations by no means attest to religious coexistence. On the contrary – they are the product of religious intolerance. In fact, half of each work shows the closing down, locking in, concealing, dragging and blocking furniture and religious objects. Not even a chair is left for the use of the rival faithful. The simultaneity of the works’ soundtracks when viewed together underscores this power struggle. In order to accentuate this counterpoint, Pereg had decided to eliminate all human presence from the sound track. There are neither sounds of footsteps, nor voices. Only inanimate objects produce noise. In both films, Pereg focuses on hastily evacuated spaces that build up anticipation for the imminent takeover. In these distended moments, time and space sway between earthy conflict and spiritual elevation. 

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