Curator: Michal Shapira
Every picture tells a story, and this is a narrative about pictures.
The exhibition reveals glimpses of the lives of Polish Jews during the pre-war period, portrayed in personal photographs collected from private albums. It tells the story of a vibrant community whose members did not survive.
The surviving photographs attempt, even for a fleeting moment, to resurrect the people and faces from their past lives.
The narrative intertwines with the fascinating life of actress and singer Golda Tencer, the Director of the Jewish Theater in Warsaw, founder of the Shalom Foundation, and the initiator of this archive project.
In 1994, when Tencer published an open call for photographs depicting Polish Jewry from the pre-war era, she was surprised by the overwhelming response. Thousands of personal and family photographs were submitted, some hidden during the war in attics and basements, and others discovered among the ruins, originating from various cities, towns, and villages.
Tencer collected around 9,000 photographs, creating a captivating and unique archive offering an intimate portrayal of the daily lives of the victims. It features documentation of family scenes and events, many of which are ordinary and relatable to viewers who adopt a tragic viewpoint, aware of the imminent moment when everything will change for these individuals, with no control over their fate.
Eighty years after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the characters are brought back to life, complemented this time by animations and illustrations crafted especially for this exhibition by Israeli illustrators. These illustrated pieces serve as a contemporary expression amidst the collection of photographs and emphasize the contrast between the day before and the day after.
Artists:
Yael Bogen
Michal Bonano
Nurit Gross
Maya Levy
Ben Molina
Amir Percia
Gil Radak
Aviv Shamir
Merav Shinn Ben-Alon
Photos courtesy of the Shalom Foundation, Poland © Shalom Foundation Gołda Tencer – Szurmiej.
The exhibition is in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Shalom Foundation, Poland.
IAM (www.culture.pl)
Shalom Foundation (www.shalom.org.pl)
