The following series of photographs by Ben Hopper was taken on a construction site in South Tel Aviv. These pictures are the result of an improvised collaboration between a group of Israeli artists and performers. This part of South Tel Aviv borders on the Florentin neighborhood which is considered to be a ‘bohemian’ area, home to a community of young artists. The building under construction in the photographs, between 7-10 stories high, once housed carpentry and glass making workshops, galleries and other spaces, but was evacuated and underwent construction to accommodate new apartments.
The performance event depicted in the series took place on June 14, 2008 and was coordinated by Omer Yechezkel who found the building and came up with the idea of bringing a group of creative people / performers / dancers / circus artists together for an improvised photo shoot. Everyone felt the building was amazing and should be put to use in its ‘empty’ state. The 14th of June was a Saturday which is Shabbat in Israel – that way most of the people (religious or secular) were not at work and the building was accessible (unofficially). All images © copyright of Ben Hopper.
1. From right to left: Ido Cheddar, Sharon Danon, Guy Leon, Maria Fernández, Adam Bezalel
The following series of photographs by Nicolas Havette were taken during the rehearsal of an intercultural dance collaboration between Chumvan Sodhachivy, a Cambodian dance who specializes in the Apsara dance style, and the French dancer/choreographer Sébastien Ramirez. The performers were brought together in the context of the Phnom Penh Hip Hop Festival and had a week to prepare the piece. The concept of superimposed images came initially as a response to a technical lighting constraint before permeating the entire series. To Havette, this was a reminder that technical constraints can often be the source of artistic creation. “This may be somewhat of a modernist approach to photography” remarks Havette, “but I think (photographic) technique should be considered a creative source that has equal bearing on the meaning of the work.” All images © copyright of Nicolas Havette.
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The first series of photos to launch the new Theatre in Pictures project is by Alan Eglinton, a Paris-based freelance photographer. The subject is the Japanese Butoh company, Sankai Juku, and their celebrated work Unetsu – The Egg stands out of Curiosity, first performed in 1986. The two kanji that form the word ‘Unetsu’ (卵熱) translate as egg/ovum and heat/fever. The company was founded in 1975 by Amagatsu Ushio and the name ‘Sankai Juku’ translates as ’studio/school between mountain and sea’. Sankai Juku’s work is an important component of the ‘Second Wave’ of Butoh since it began in the 1960s. The photos included here are of a 2006 production at the Vaison-la-Romaine Dance Festival, France. All images are © copyright of Alan Eglinton.
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