Prague's DOX Centre for Contemporary Art is presenting the world premiere of "This Place," a photo exhibition depicting the complexities of life in Israel and the West Bank. The show focuses on history, geography, daily life, and the perception of these topics by the global community. Frederic Brenner, the creator of the project, says he was inspired by various gatherings of artists throughout history, such as the Mission Heliographique in 19th-century France and the U.S. Farm Security Administration’s photography program. Each of the 12 photographers participating in the project spent approximately six months in residence. The final 500 photographs feature work by such esteemed artists as Josef Koudelka, Gilles Peres, Thomas Struth, and Fazal Sheikh. (Captions by DOX)
'This Place': Israel Through The Eyes Of 12 Renowned Photographers
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Frederic Brenner, The Weinfeld Family, 2009
Frederic Brenner explores Israel as a place of radical otherness, where longing, belonging, and exclusion constantly permeate through lived experience. His meticulous research is visualized as individual and societal moments that pinpoint the condition of contemporary Israel.
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Frederic Brenner, The Asian Levi Family, 2010
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Josef Koudelka, A-Ram, East Jerusalem, 2010
Josef Koudelka makes the wall of separation the central character of his epic body of photographic work. His graphic, panoramic photographs convey the sense of this archaic landscape, the impact of the wall upon it, and the painful reality of the wall’s dividing route.
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Josef Koudelka, Al 'Eizariya (Bethany) East Jerusalem, 2010
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Gilles Peress, Al Bustan, a Neighborhood in the Village of Silwan, East Jerusalem, 2011
Gilles Peress makes an astute observation of the psychological "temperature" of Israel and the West Bank. His photographs, taken on the streets, represent their inhabitants as embodiments of the extremities of perspectives that shape Israel.
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Gilles Peress, Bethlehem Checkpoint on the Israeli Side, 2011
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Martin Kollar, Field Trip, Israel, 2009-2011
Martin Kollar captures contradictions and incongruities that visualize the threat of impending violence embedded in the routine normalcy of everyday life in Israel. His work features a series of photographs rich with subtle drama and visual strangeness.
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Martin Kollar, Field Trip, Israel, 2009-2011
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Rosalind Solomon, Jerusalem, Memorial Day, 2011
Rosalind Solomon creates a compassionate and personal evocation of Israel’s ethnic diversity through her portraits and generates a powerful aura of the relationships and lives that she encountered on her journeys through Israel.
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Rosalind Solomon, Tel Aviv, 2011
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Fazal Sheikh, From the Desert Bloom series, 2011
Fazal Sheikh will show a grid of 48 aerial photographs, each taken from above the traces of disappeared Bedouin villages, their size and location practically invisible from ground level. He narrates a powerful story about a community, their land, and their exclusion.
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Fazal Sheikh, From the Desert Bloom series, 2011
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Thomas Struth, Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth 2014
Thomas Struth creates substantial, individuated experiences of Israel with his large-scale color photographs. The selection of works for this exhibition includes landscapes, cityscapes, industrial and religious architectural interiors, and a family portrait.
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Thomas Struth, Z-Pinch Plasma Lab, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 2011
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Stephen Shore, St. Sabas Monastery, Judean Desert, 2009
Stephen Shore will present a selection of color works (captured with his signature 8-by-10-inch negative camera) that offer clear and astutely observed facets of contemporary Israel and visual manifestations of its divisions and histories.
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Stephen Shore, Nabi Musa, 2010
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Wendy Ewald, A Picture at Home, 2013
Wendy Ewald initiated 14 participatory photography projects in Israel and the West Bank with community groups including schools, a women’s group, market stall owners, and high-tech workers. Her work conveys a range of voices and the distinct character of each community.
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Wendy Ewald, Green Olives, 2013
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Nick Waplington
Nick Waplington created an archive of over 1,300 photographs that represent the people and sites of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. These well-researched and faithful depictions combine landscapes and portrait imagery to create a detailed insight into this practice.
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Nick Waplington
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Jungjin Lee, Unnamed Road 003, 2011
Jungjin Lee immerses the viewer in the weighty layers of history that she experienced in the landscapes of Israel. Lee’s handmade prints trace the embedded sadness and poignancy of the many abandoned and de-humanized places that she encountered.
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Jungjin Lee, Unnamed Road 002, 2011