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Thomas Struth
Silwan, East Jerusalem (2009) —
Acclaimed German photographer Thomas Struth offers his personal view of Israel and the Palestinian territories in 18 essential photographs taken over eight trips between 2009 and 2014. This one is from the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, depicting a Palestinian woman. "This picture is about the fact that what's happening there is embedded in every individual, such as this woman, highlighting the relationship between the individual and the community," he said.
The controversial Israeli settlement of Har Homa in East Jerusalem, considered occupied territory by most of the world: "I photographed this settlement several times, trying to get a picture, but I ended up taking one extra trip specifically to look at it again. When I arrived I realized works to enlarge the settlement had started, so I found this point of view which makes it look like a tongue, reaching further into the land."
Off Al-Shuhada Street 1, Al-Khalil/ Hebron (2009) —
"This is the Palestinian city of Hebron, it is heavily protected, the view here is into the settlement from the Israeli side, offering evidence of what's happening here."
The exhibition includes two family portraits. This is the Faez family, photographed in Rehovot, Israel. "The Faez family was introduced to me in 2009 by Frederic Brenner, the French photographer who initiated the project. Frederic and I had lunch with them, I made the picture outside the entrance of the family's house."
This church was built directly over the site where the Catholic tradition places the house of Mary, and the Annunciation from the archangel Gabriel that she would conceive Jesus. It is the largest Christian sanctuary in the region: "There are layers of religious obsession here in a way, as everything is covered in layers of different designs and different overbearing architectural styles, especially the latest construction of the concrete ceiling that looks almost like a Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott science fiction film, it's so absurd."
A fortification of the 1967 wall, the landscape seen in the background is Syria, as this is close to the border. "This is a military fortification but it's already 40 years old, it doesn't contain any actual drama of the moment, the metal parts are rusty. It's over, it's in the past; what remains is a reflection of time that has passed since then."
"This s a private yard with a banana tree and an Israeli flag, so this was for me an expression of the early time of settlements. It's also strange that it's in the middle of Tel Aviv, I felt just attracted to it."
