Israeli Landscapes

Israeli Landscapes is a project about landscape photography and images from the urban environment in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the Westbank and the annexed Syrian Golan Heights. The pictures were made during several extensive trips to the region between 2006 and 2015. They point out the large variety in which the area represents itself. Furthermore, the pictures emphasize how the impact of political and social conflicts marks the region.

The title of the work has been chosen due to the fact that all the photographed places are to be found in area under political control of the state of Israel. This is true for the annexed Golan Heights as well as for the Occupied Territory. Naming the landscape "Israeli Landscapes" makes this visible. It shows the Israeli State as the sovereign which, through planning and architectural measures, keeps its political agenda alive.

The selected photographs make these processes visible and understandable. By mixing photographs from the region that depict different kind of political architecture, military installations and urban planning with quotes from regional and international architects, planners and thinkers, who critically reflect the issue, this project wants to open up a new discursive space. The aim is to enable the viewer to no longer look at urban and natural landscapes as genuine spaces but to dig deeper and try to understand their political foundation.