Roi Kuper’s new collection includes landscapes
of the Israeli seacoast, the north, the Negev, and portraits.
In contrast with his earlier work in black & white, his new
photographs are in color.
Charged with Israeli political, social and personal realities, the
photographs are the products of a well-developed , conscious process.
Occasionally their expression is direct, however, it is usually
indirect, even though personal aspects the works are not restricted
to a subjective state of mind.
Rona Sela* in her article for the catalogue “Citrus Necropolis”
says: “The subject matters in Kuper’s works are hard,
incisive, painful yetvisually, they are not offensive or garish,
but beautiful, pleasant, and gentle. Kuper’s gaze is introverted
and the calm surface of his works has to be peeled away to reach
the heart of the matter.”
This new collection is not a crucial modification in Kuper’s
manners of acting, although the appearance seems different.
Kuper state that his main interest is accurate, detailed observation,
starting with the observation of the landscape, and then the act
of holding the gaze. The continuity of this process transforms the
gaze into something meditative .
“…As a creator I’m looking for new observations,
trying to find how to rupture (break) the normative gaze… photography
is at first an observation; looking inside and outside at the same
time… the product of photography reveals an instant of delay,
an external reality, but it is also an image of an inner process.”
In the works from the series Necropolis,Kuper referred to the
destructive military presence, damaging the landscape of Israel.
In the series, Citrus he focused on photographing deserted citrus
groves that until recently were the absolute symbol of the Zionist
dream and national collective ethos. In the current series, Kuper
focuses his camera on silent, anonymous, isolated landscapes.
Only the rustle of ears (of corn) in the wind or the murmur of
the sea waves can be heard. Apparently there is nothing worrying
in those views.
The power of the images lies in their muteness.
Kuper says, ”What interests me is place, places void of people
where anything can happen. Places where something can be expected
to happen, where additional (further) meanings of ideas concerning
space and gaze can appear… the gaze arises thoughts and emotions
while standing ahead, waiting for something to come…”**
The works examine the position of one looking towards the horizon.
The endless spaceprovides kind of relief, but only for a moment.
The photographs attempt to be point for relaxation, meditation,
and utopia. But like the hero of the “Quay” by Chris
Marker,we realize that there is no refuge from the past.***
The portrait: a woman, her eyes shut down with a serenity expression,
her classic feature disconnected from any background. Fragility
is hiding under the perfect lifeless mask.
Roi Kuper, born in 1956, in Israel, studied at Haddassah Institute,
and the Institute for for Art Teachers, Ramat Hasharon. His works
from the series Necropolis were displayed together with the works
of Gilad Ophir in the Tate Modern Musuem in London.
*”Species of Memory”: Notes on the Works of Roi Kuper,
1990-2001, Citrus Necropolis, Hertzliya Museum of Art, 2001.
**From a conversation between Kuper and Effrat Shalem, Studio
Magazine, No. 128 pp. 28-34.
*** From a conversation with Roi Kuper.
|
