Fragments of Life
"It only takes a second to die"
In "Fragments of Life" all photographs are framed memories, temporarily relived, staged and captured. Each photograph was given a catalogue number issuing from the time of day or night associated with the depiction. The formal arrangement of image and number produces a collection of time zones integrating specific points in time, movement, space and experience.
The photographs transcend the artist's personal stories and create infinite moments allowing us to reflect on the diversity and potency of rather banal and temporal events. The addition of a number allocating time to each image brings into play a chain of associations. In photograph number 0000, for example, the picture is associated with the midnight hour. We see a young man in a transitory stage, his sexual identity divided, blurred and alternating before our very eyes. What ever we may think of his sexual identity we are made aware by the given time zone that changes relating to his identity are imminent.
Midnight signifies a new day or a new year. It is both the beginning and the end of an era. In symbolic terms, midnight is also darkness turning gradually into light, death and birth, and the fine line separating life from death. "It takes a second to die from a gun shot", says Kobi Israel, reflecting on his experience as a soldier, and that second between life and death, the second before change and transformation take place, is what he aims to capture in this series of photographs.
The use of body language in still 0000 is also indicative given that the young man's gesture can be associated with descriptions of the crucifix. Hence, introducing the themes of voluntary transformation, the death of the old identity and the resurrection of the true self. The portrayal suggests that sacrifice is inevitable and accepted by the young man with total surrender.
There is a striking contrast between the young man's lit body and environment, and the darkness of the night, which engulfs his head like an aura filled with expectations. The poetic treatment of the midnight hour paints the scene with unspoiled beauty, so it seems that lights emanating from neighbouring houses are transforming into stars.
A different state of transition is captured in still 0545. A man's figure is silhouetted against the background of a white curtain flooded by the light of a new day. Night and day are divided by the sharp contrast of a dark interior and a brightly lit curtain. The man is positioned between night and day; darkness and light, facing the new day through the window though his body still partially immersed in the darkness of the room.
It is a moment full of anticipation though an air of sadness lingers in the vacuum of the room. It is a time of separation; the man is leaving behind the dark safety of the night and facing the new day with fresh hopes. The darkness may be filled with fear and sadness but it is also a source of pure potential and shelter. The light, however, is uncompromising, exposing one's worries and imperfections without mercy.
Within a second the perfect arrangement captured at 0545 is no longer in existence but the special condition is entrapped within the interplay of shadow and light.
Each photograph is a fragment of life encapsulating the various layers of a single event, which is about to unfold. Each second is a crucial point in time leading to change. The artist's personal memories and intense range of emotions translate into a series of expressive images as he explores and recreates his identity.
Copyright Dr Lila Moore June 03
About Kobi Israel
Kobi Israel attended New York Film Academy (New York) and the School of Visual Arts in Tel-Aviv. He directed a short student film, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which was screened at the Tel-Aviv Cinematique and broadcast on Israel's Channel 2 Television.
He has participated in several solo exhibitions in London, Paris and Tel-Aviv; and group exhibitions held in London, Madrid, Lisbon, Nice, Chicago, Tel-Aviv and Ramat-Gan in Israel. The image 1700 was selected for exhibition at "Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize 2003". The prize is the successor to the John Kobal photographic portrait award, which until it ended last year was recognised as one of the most distinguished photography competitions. The exhibition is held at the National Portrait Gallery in London.