THE ARTIST
Naomi Moser is an American video artist currently based in Bucharest, where she is completing a Fulbright art research grant. Her recent video work discusses Jewish identity and its victim oppressor duality. She employs structures of traditional Jewish storytelling, such as theatrical performance and the repeated asking of questions. Forgetfulness and misunderstanding—as performed by her ditzy ghouls—aim to disrupt and call into question the re-telling of these particular narratives and the identities of victimhood and dislocation that they perpetuate. Setting her scenes to themes of escapism in the form of travel, nightlife and dress-up, she disarms her viewers with an approachable, campy aesthetic before implicating them by pointing out the scripted ways in which many people discuss identity, sex, morality, politics and religion.

THE RESIDENCY
During her residency at BAR Naomi had planned to research a “for women, by women” taxi company founded in Beirut. Unfortunately, by the time she arrived the company had closed. Still interested in the concept, she decided to meet with a Lebanese taxi driver who used to work for the company and still drove for Uber. These interviews inspired a poem/ballad which the artist recited in a performative video. The poem discusses this driver’s strength despite society's preference that she stay safely at home, rather than working in a male-dominated field.