excerpt from my text for “BLACK SABRES: Inner Journeys in a Burning Reality “ exhibited at the Agripas 12 Gallery, Jerusalem in July/August 2020: (for more images and texts see under Black Sabres)

(…) How should I present my photos, when I photograph on my outings with an Israeli-Palestinian direct-action group as we accompany Palestinian shepherds in the South Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley, in attempt to stop attacks by violent settlers from illegal outposts that seek to drive away the shepherds and small farmers out of Area C, often supported by the army? Can I show these photographs in a publicly funded gallery that would risk its funding if critical issues are raised that do not find favor with the ruling powers?

If I bring a more intimate vision to these photographs – for instance, by capturing the magic of the early morning light - will I risk making them too esthetically pleasing, thus beautifying an oppressive reality and trivializing the grave issues? Or, precisely by focusing on the breathtaking landscape, on the sense of freedom to roam, the photos will emphasize what the Palestinians stand to lose? Would the esthetics of the works beckon the viewer to take note, and ask deeper questions about how the Jordan Valley is slowly, but deliberately being emptied of its native Palestinians?

With BLACK SABRES – Inner Journeys in a Burning Reality I want to bring these questions about art and society to the fore, showing works from two series, Black Sabres and Jordan Valley, Just Before, based on two very different approaches, exhibited in an interwoven way. Perhaps what ties the two series together is the Palestinian concept of sumud, translated as “steadfastly holding on”. On the one hand, the black and white extreme closeups of sabres* relate to the prickly pear cactus hedges that stubbornly persist around the remains of Palestinian villages in Israel, refusing to be uprooted. On the other, the color photographs in this exhibit show the Palestinian Bedouin in Area C who persevere in going out with their sheep in the face of encroaching annexation of their lands.

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see also my essay in Palestine-Israel Journal: Art and Activism: Dilemma, Dialectic, Duet? https://www.pij.org/articles/2073/art-and-activism-dilemma-dialectic-duet