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I began working in North Africa in 1993, initially with the objective of photographing vanishing Jewish sites. I had no way of knowing the project would take several years, and I've come to realize I was really 30 years too late. My intention was to make a historical record of Jewish architectural remnants while they existed. Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and the resulting hostilities towards Jews in Arab and Muslim lands, the dispersion of some 865,000 Jews has left numerous synagogues, cemeteries and saints' shrines to fall into disuse and ultimate destruction. Ironically, Jewish communities existed in North Africa long before its conversion to Islam in the early 7th century. Now, only a tiny fraction of the Jewish population remains.
Frustrated at failed attempts to find funding through institutions to photograph these sites, and aware that time was of the essence, I self-funded trips to Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia to build a photographic historical record. While working in these countries I photographed some Islamic sites as well, which are seen here. The shared histories date back many generations. Most of my work has been concentrated in Morocco. I had the good fortune to establish a working relationship with a guide who spoke Arabic, Hebrew, Berber, English and French. Over the past ten years, his assistance as translator, driver, and organizer has been invaluable. It freed me to concentrate on my work, which among things involved hours each night in my hotel room (after the full day's work and often hours on the road) loading film, organizing my notes, and cleaning dust off my equipment. In order to work in these countries with a large-format (8x10) camera and tripod requires government permits from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Culture. In some instances it was very difficult to obtain these permits. Morocco was generous and accommodating, and that is why I made repeated trips there. I did not approach this work as a lament for the passing of these communities, or as a nostalgic recollection, but as a historical document. We ask questions about a photograph which we rarely ask about a painting - the six questions: who what where when why and how. A photograph wants to be written about or spoken about. It is an implied literary event. In that spirit I have included shortened text with these images, so that they are not only viewed as architecture, but as a piece of recorded history. |
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