Artist Statement
When the Land Speaks

A persistent gaze, the punctual photographic attitude that turns a maze of symbols into a revealed riddle of meanings. I wander through limits, investigating boundaries and places that are usual to the Israeli landscape but still pass unnoticed to most of its residents; spaces and forms are approached and experienced time and again. My photography is a journey where volumes and human landscapes belong not just to the place itself but adhere to a personal biography.I am puzzled by the eccentric and confused identity of my peers, the “Israeli Identity” became the field of my investigation: the blurred borders, the inadequacy, the peculiar way in which contradictions are revealed to the eye; the legitimate relation between a landscape and the people belonging to it. The ways through which temporary becomes permanent, its social relevance: a constant confrontation with the ordinary comprehension of what surrounds our life and the ultimate understanding of its real meaning. Social and political transcend their denomination, becoming an added value of our daily routine. It is through the extreme and detailed rendition of the 8x10inch camera format, where the peculiar behind the ordinary is revealed, that the stories of the day-by-day Israeli landscape are assembled, and made sense of: building the statement of a constant observation.

Yaakov Israel 2009

 

 

Graduated in 2002 (B.F.A) with honors from the Department of Photography at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. Since 2004 he has been teaching photography at some of the most prominent art and photography schools and colleges in Israel.

In his work he constantly investigates the Israeli identity as perceived through architecture, landscape and the country’s diverse population. He finds that he is drawn to document places that are from one point of view characteristic of the Israeli landscape, but on the other hand not noticeable to most. "As a person who takes an interest in my surroundings I find that I return again and again to the same places, and these places and their inhabitants have become vital parts of my personal biography".

Solo shows include: Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, U.S.A. Centro de Arte Alcobend / PhotoEspaña Festival 2013. Czech Centre, Prague, 2013. Impressions Gallery, Bradford, 2013. Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp, 2013. Margaret Street Gallery, London, 2012. La Maison de la Photographie, Toulon, 2012. OSLO 8 Gallery, Basel, 2011.
Group shows include: Photoquai Photography Biennial, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris 2013. 'EAT', Palace of Lombardy, Milan 2012. “CONTENTS: LOVE, HAPPINESS, ANXIETY AND EVERYTHING ELSE”, PhotoCenter NW (PCNW) | Newspace Center for Photography in Portland, OR | Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco 2012. “The Object of Zionism | Architecture of Statehood in Israel 1948-73”, Swiss Architecture Museum, Basel 2011. "Building a Place", Rubin Museum, Tel-Aviv, 2010. 'APPROACHES': Centro Andaluz de la Fotografi’a, Almeria 2008.

His Artwork has been featured in TIME LightBox, PDN Magazine, hotshoe Magazine, OjodePez Magazine, Ahorn Magazine, Archivo, GUP Magazine, PRIVATE Magazine, Fraction Magazine.
Interviews: Vogue Italia, Conscientious, Urbanautica, Landscape Stories, Peta Pixel, Visura Photography Magazine.

Winner of the PhotoEspaña Descubrimientos PHE12 Award (2012), Conscientious portfolio competition (CPC 2011), Critical Mass finalist, Top 50 by Photolucida (2011).

His photographs are part of the Collections of The Knesset (Israel's house of parliament), Haifa Museum of Art, The Open Museum of Photography at Tel-Hai, Ashdod Art Museum and Private Collections.

His first Monograph: “The Quest for the Man on the White Donkey” was published in 2012 by Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam. His second project: “Legitimacy of Landscape “, has just been published by Verlag Kettler / The PhotoBookMuseun / Editor Markus Schaden.

 

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