Rescue Excavation, The Western Wall Plaza

About the Photographer

Siman-tov, Orit

Israeli, b.1971

In her "Leisure Time in Israel" series, Orit Siman-Tov explores contemporary Israeli life as seen through public leisure sites and their inhabitants. Each of these sites is stripped of its cultural and natural landscape and designed for a universal feel. However, in each of Siman-Tov's pictures, there are traces of Israel, particularly around the edges of the frame. People lounge by a pool in the desert, or enjoy ski slopes that are identifiable through signage in Hebrew as those Mt. Hermon, Israel's only ski resort. These safe, relaxing activities also create a tension in these images, in so far as they contrast with the images of armed conflict and political strife that the Western media more commonly show of the region.

Orit Siman-Tov completed her BFA in photography from Bezalel Academy of Art, Jerusalem, Israel (1997). She has been included in exhibitions at ARC Gallery, Chicago (2004); Architects' House Gallery, Tel Aviv (2002); Haifa Museum, Haifa (2001); Hakibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv (2000); and Brotfabrik Gallery, Berlin (2000); among others. Her work is in the collections of Haifa Museum, Hakibbutz Gallery, and Camera Obscura in Israel; and Schoeneber Archive in Germany.