Auckland
Photographer of the Year reveals the humanity of the Old City of Jerusalem in
exhibition and accompanying book
Beggars and scholars,
slaves and warriors have all walked the narrow streets of the Old City of
Jerusalem. In early 2015, Auckland Photographer of the Year Ilan
Wittenberg set out to capture the stoic nature of its
inhabitants. The result is a compelling collection of portraits – ‘Faces of
Jerusalem’ – which will go on display next week at Te Uru Waitakere
Contemporary Gallery, and which Ilan has compiled into a handsome
limited-edition book.
Born in Israel, Ilan
has visited the UNESCO World Heritage site on numerous occasions. However, it
was during a recent family trip that the idea to produce a portfolio of
portraits (for his fellowship application to the Photographic Society of New
Zealand) first took form. Not wanting to delay his family, Ilan returned by
himself in January 2015 and spent days exploring the winding, cobbled streets
and tiny, dimly lit shops of the Muslim, Jewish, Armenian and Christian
quarters.
While his collection
of striking monochrome images captures a range of people going about their
daily lives, it was the city’s merchants that Wittenberg was particularly drawn
to. “Many people are not happy, you can see that,” says Ilan, “but that’s for
good reasons: the economy is down. There are very few customers and very little
foot traffic because there is a lot of stress in the streets. Wars, religious
tension and the ongoing political conflict scare the tourists away.”
Wanting to create
quick rapport and a relaxed environment, Ilan introduced himself as a New
Zealander (which he has been since arriving in the country in 2001). “Oh Kiwi,
welcome” would be the typical response, which cleared the opportunity to create
a photograph. Where language permitted, he kept the conversation flowing to
produce more engaging portraits than candid documentary photography usually
does. “These photos were taken without a flash or a tripod, using ambient light
only. I chose to present the prints in monochrome to eliminate distracting
colours and help focus the viewer’s attention on the people, their body
language and their expression. The sepia tone also provides a timeless
atmosphere to the images, which reflect the rich culture and turbulent history
of Jerusalem.
His journey as a
photographer started relatively recently in 2011, but Ilan has already been given
the honour of Fellow of the
Photographic Society of New Zealand as well as Master of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography.
Selected prints from the ‘Faces of Jerusalem’ portfolio contributed to the body
of work that won Wittenberg the prestigious title of NZIPP 2015 Auckland
Photographer of the Year. The collection also took first place in the
Documentary Book section of the 2015 Moscow International Foto Awards, a
competition that attracted entries from 84 countries.
‘Faces of Jerusalem’
will run daily at Te Uru Gallery from February 20 to May 1, with a special
opening event from 4pm on Saturday 27. Limited edition prints and a viewing
copy of the book will be available in the gallery shop.
No comments:
Post a Comment