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Teenage Tel Aviv-Haifa

 


In re-creating images of your childhood with subjects you encountered [in the current] youth community, how were you able to insert and infuse yourself into their experiences while also separate them from your exact experience?


 
First, I have to explain that as a documentary fashion photographer, photography is very meticulous in terms of character selection, finding a location, styling, makeup and hair – the only thing left really is to let the youth be themselves. As natural as they can [be] within the staged situation.

The difference between youth in my time and youth today is not that great in essence, the adolescent experience is the same everywhere and at any time, in my perception that is. There is no need to separate or try to connect what they experience to what I experienced.


 
How much of the narrative throughout the images has been directly from your memories versus influenced by the current youth culture there, and their relationships and present lives?
 


Many of the photographs were created from my personal experiences, but again, my perception of youth's inner essence remains the same, despite the introduction, and once you disconnect them from the virtual world, they behave as teenagers in every way. 

 

What aspect of this route and location has changed the most, and what has stayed the truest to your experience there?


 
In my opinion, what has changed the most is the construction of buildings. Multi-story buildings have multiplied in areas that were once free, green and open spaces for us. But the area remains more or less the same, particularly the beaches.
 


Why 14-17? What is it about this age range that is so unique in your opinion, in both creating your art and in terms of the larger meaning in our growth as humans?
 


Ages 14-17 are the ages I remember most significantly, these were beautiful, happy, innocent years, and to broaden this insight – it is the age of consolidation and self-identity, a recognition of yourself compared to society. The beginning of a certain independence, in which the experiences are very strong because everything is very new and original. Everything is so natural and real, there is nothing artificial and this is evident in the pictures.
 

 

 

There is definitely an energy behind the story and the photos that is beyond alive— if you could put a song, or soundtrack behind the project, what would it be?
 


I lived for the music of "The Smiths" from the eighties.
 


How do you relate to ‘homesickness’?
 


My parents and my family still live in the Hadera area, I visit them once or twice every couple of weeks, and still get the chance to photograph this beautiful place situated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.


 
You spent quite a while on this project, as it spans twelve years. Did you form your own relationships with the subjects?

 


 
The subjects are "new face" models from various acting and modeling agencies in Israel, some of whom I have worked with over the years, I wouldn't call them good personal relationships, but rather really good professional relationships.

 

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