ARTIST STATEMENT

Themes of history, remembrance, and place emerged powerfully as I photographed people in the Jewish and Muslim Quarters of Jerusalem's Old City. Armed security forces are everywhere. The tragic consequences of conflict have affected everyone. Despite circumstances, people seem to adapt in this ancient place, with rituals forming the basis for daily living. I made pictures of personal interactions, religious observance, work and celebration. These are the activities that give our lives purpose and meaning.

During four years of living in Israel, I spent solitary time in the eastern Negev desert, the Judean Hills, and the Dead Sea. In addition to its unusual topography, this part of the country reverberates with the power of biblical history and tradition. One cannot visit the region without experiencing something profound. I went to the edge of a ravine overlooking the vastness of the land near Arad. The only sound was that of the wind. In Hebrew, the word ruach, meaning wind, is the same word as for spirit. 

I was in the great wilderness of the Psalms. It is here that I returned often to photograph the landscape and to gather spiritual strength, as I was surviving loss and change in my own life.