When you look into the light, all you see are shadows
December 2014 through February 2015,
presented at Centre[3], Hamilton, Ontario
Materials
Printed contrasted photographs, melded thread and printed transparencies.
Concept
This exhibition was part of an ongoing project that started after my move to Canada from Israel in November 2003. Having to relocate to a new country - with a different culture and language - is a strange experience.
Since my arrival, I have used my art to express longing for my family and country of origin. I have explored the sense of not belonging, of being uprooted and trying to grow new roots and connections.
It is an ongoing journey of changing identity from Israeli to an Israeli who is also Canadian.
To connect with my new environment, I collected common items such as subway tickets or exhibition brochures. Often I would photograph nature or take images from both countries and try to connect them to create the kind of hybrid creature I have become.
Scattered flat black fragments of memory, holding my childhood, the sun, a place, culture, seasons, scents, textures and tastes. The bare minimum holding the maximum. Fragmentation just barely holding together.
The contrasted black and white images caused by the strong Israeli light invites a dialogue with the contrasted Canadian scenery we see outside. Both create similar outcomes, despite the different temperatures.
These prints evolved from photographs I took during my last visit to Israel in December 2014. This is what I saw when I looked up high toward the sky, searching for answers. Answers from such familiar outlines. Perhaps they are meaningless to you the observer, but for me they hold special locations, interactions and memories. They represent a certain aspect of my sense of what home is.
What do you see when you look up?
What are the outlines of your memories?
What is home for you?