Using a variety of materials to explore themes of identity, memory and history, the concept of time - and how this relates to personal and collective memories - is focal to Elad Argaman’s practice. This is investigated through numerous topics concerning the cultural and socio-political mechanisms of Israel, and forays into family photographs and architecture are repeated motifs here. ‘Habatt Houb’ and ‘Album 33’ reappropriate old family photographs; by giving them new life in the present, Argaman further explores the complexities of time and memory by placing himself within his own life’s interdirectional timeline. Conversely, ‘Hold on. Move on’ looks at the rapid changing face of Tel Aviv as gentrification sweeps the city, taking with it old buildings and childhood memories.
A photo taken back in 1994, Petra, Jordan. Experimenting with my first camera (a small pocket Olympus camera), I took this cropped photo of my grandfather in this ancient site. Back home my grandfather always used to have notes and posits’ scattered in his study in Washington DC. The photo and the cork board came together in an attempt to visualize a memory of a memory.
Country of Origin: Israel
Framed.
