SIREN
(2009-2024)
This project which began in 2009 explores the shifting of citizens into subjects, and the formation of collective identity and memory during the siren and the landscapes it forms. The photographs were made with an 8x10 camera on highways during annual memorial days and at the moment of siren. The siren holds a multiple of meanings in Israeli society - It serves as a means of protection, signalling when shelter is necessary from an immediate threat. Yet, the same sound of siren also marks memorial days in Israel, and thus connecting the notion of threat with memory, ideology, and the intersection of past and present. In these images, the notion of control becomes evident on multiple levels, when the triangular power dynamic between landscape, state, and citizens becomes apparent - a central authority (the state / "the big other") presses a button, causing all citizens to literally stand still. The choice of highways as the setting is significant—they represent spaces of high speed, yet during the siren, the world slows down, pausing in a moment that is ultimately captured as an image. The presence of people in these photographs is also crucial, as they become inextricable parts of the project, unable to escape their role in this shared photographic experience.