The quest for the man on the white donkey


  • Photographer
    Yaakov Israel
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Date of Photograph
    2002-2009
  • Technical Info
    4x5 & 8x10 inch cameras

According to Jewish tradition the Messiah (Prophet) will arrive on a white donkey. As I was taking photographs near the Dead Sea a Palestinian rode past me on his white donkey… I realized that I had encountered my “Messiah”; this meeting initiated this body of work and set me off on my quest. As my “Messenger” revealed himself, the search for a deeper understanding of my Country and what defines me as an Israeli became an urge. The “Quest” is an attempt to relay a personal take to the Israeli reality with a broader sense of belonging to the global human collectivity.

Story

According to Jewish tradition the Messiah (Prophet) will arrive on a white donkey.

As I was taking photographs near the Dead Sea a Palestinian rode past me on his white donkey… I realized that I had encountered my “Messiah”; this meeting initiated this body of work.
The occasional encounters with people and sceneries; how they appeared to be revealed or lost at the same time, as if they where part of a scene that was ever changing and never changing.
As my “Messenger” revealed himself, the search for a deeper understanding of my Country and what defines me as an Israeli became an urge.
The “Quest” is an attempt to relay a personal take to the Israeli reality with a broader sense of belonging to the global human collectivity.
Religious, social aspects filter into everyday life and their meanings are exposed as the journey moves on. Jewish missionaries, lost souls and individuals living in the fringes of the society: all blends in to form this landscape of humanity.

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