In the orched
Ba-Pardes: In the Orchard
Artists House TLV, 2014
Tamar Shalit-Avni's photographs suffuse us with a sense of mystery, enigma, and secrecy, as they
raise questions that may not necessarily have or demand an answer: who are the women portrayed,
how did they get there, what is their significance, and what is their purpose?
The women tread across agricultural fields – some fertile and flourishing, while others are deserted
and growing wild. Despite their disproportionate scale relative to the setting, each of the women
constitutes an important part of it.
The women’s power stems from their individuality. In spite of their relatively small size within the
frame, their body language and positioning reveal something about them and their relationship with
their surroundings.
While staging the scenes, Shalit-Avni engages in a covert dialogue with the subjects of her
photographs. Yet, it appears to be a one-sided conversation, as though they are simply wandering
through the pictorial space, unaware of the layers of meaning intended by the photographer.
A wide range of ages are represented – from twelve to eighty and above. The women were selected
as a result of the artist’s quest for figures who can relate to her and to the landscapes she
photographs, in terms of both personality and physical attributes.
The photographed landscape, in which she currently resides, is akin to that of the artist’s homeland.
She has been shooting the fields and orchards – both inside and out – for years. Shalit-Avni follows
the fields and their rotating crops, as well as the perennial orchards, capturing the seasonal
blossoming and bearing of fruit.
The photographs of the orchard (pardes) serve as a key for the decipherment of the exhibition –
images whose power lies in the fact that the weight embodied by their light and color is equivalent
to that of the troubling gloominess that seems to conceal a secret, as though drawn directly from the
Talmudic legend of the Pardes.
Curator: Naomi Leshem