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Dry



Dry

The series "Dry," which was shot in 2007–2008, is composed of photographs taken in desert areas and at the entrances of government institutions and banks. The decision to photograph in the desert was born of an interest in "blockage" in both the physical and the emotional sense of this term. I brought this interest to the observation of various geological phenomena involving processes of rupture, erosion, and a movement of dropping or falling.

The compositions created in the course of this work process organize the terrain in accordance with personal, rather than political, associations, so that the photographed landscapes and objects are transformed into the reflection of an emotional and subjective realm. In contrast to traditional landscape photographs, in which the gaze is directed towards the horizon line, in this case it is directed towards the lower seam lines in each photograph, while lingering on various elements.

The photographs taken in the urban sphere further amplify the experience of blockage. The choice to take nocturnal photographs of municipal centers of power that are active during the day effaces their specificity, and creates a sense of oppression and uncertainty. The identical gaze cast at these two different spheres exceeds the concern with both "nature photography" and the politics of power – while the formalist decisions taken in the course of the work process undermine the sense of a distinct time and place.







© 2022 Gaston Zvi Ickowicz . All rights reserved.