The Mosaic Rooms present this astonishing photographic exhibition curated by acclaimed visual theorist and curator Ariella Azoulay. The exhibition documents a critical four year period in the history of Palestine/Israel, 1947-1950 and features over 200 photographs from the Israeli State archive, many of which have never been seen outside of Israel. This collection offers further insight into the first years of the Israeli state and its relationship with the remaining Palestinians.

The images are accompanied by in depth textual analysis. At times referencing the official descriptions issued for the photographs in the state archives, the images are re-contextualised based on Azoulay’s extensive research into the period. Often providing contrasting or probing interpretations, this body of work presents a record of the period previously ignored or only partially acknowledged by the West. It also reveals the power of documentary photography and its associated narrative in the (mis)representation of historical events and in the creation of political entities.

This unique exhibition opens on 3 November to coincide with the publication of Azoulay’s accompanying book, From Palestine to Israel: A Photographic Record of Destruction and State Formation, 1947-1950, by Pluto Press. Buy it in our online shop

Ariella Azoulaydirects the Photo-Lexic project at the Minerva Humanities Centre at Tel Aviv University, Israel. She is the author of Civil Imagination: Political Ontology of Photography (2011), The Civil Contract of Photography (2008), Once Upon a Time: Photography Following Walter Benjamin (2006) and Death’s Showcase: The Power of Image in Contemporary Democracy (2001). She won the 2002 Infinity Award for Writing, presented by the International Centre for Photography, for excellence in the field of photography.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of talks on the fascinating relationship between archival photography, film and the writing (or re-writing) of history. View the programme here

View the exhibition brochure here

PRESS

EXHIBITION HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 1ST DECEMBER

Exhibition open Mon-Fri 11-6pm, Sat 11-4pm