Foto Friday – Hedgehogs in Tel Aviv

December 12, 2008 - 12:19 AM by Rachel Neiman

Israelis love hedgehogs. So much so that instead of Big Bird, the Israeli version of Sesame Street featured a large hedgehog named Kipi Kipod. This affinity makes sense because the hedgehog, like your typical Israeli sabra, is prickly on the outside, but cute and cuddly underneath. Well, at least, your typical sabra male would have you think so.

Anyway, back to the small spiny nocturnal insectivorous mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae. Photographer Yuval Chen’s exhibition Hedgehog (Kipod) opened last week at the Artists’ House in Tel Aviv. Chen spent almost two years snapping shots of hedgehogs in the urban landscape. “I was looking for them in the middle of the night, several times in a week – I found them many times on the grass in the yards of the buildings.”

Chen spends his days working as a photojournalist at daily newspaper Yedihot Aharonot. The exhibition, he says, examines nature and man, and asks whether these are opposing or collaborative forces. Chen notes that the images anthropomorphize the lives of hedgehogs dwelling in the city by contrasting them with human life, but that all of his subjects are Tel Aviv residents.

Here are a few images from the Hedgehog exhibition; more can be found at Chen’s Facebook page or at the Artists’ House where, if you’re lucky and it’s dark enough, a real hedgehog may greet you at the entrance.

Tags: , , , , • Category: Art, Foto Friday, General 

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One Comment on Foto Friday – Hedgehogs in Tel Aviv

  1. Israel Celebrates “Earth Day” Today Only Tomorrow, With Lights Out, Beach Cleaning, Concerts and Green Awards | ISRAELITY on Wed, Apr 22nd 2009 9:13 AM

    2. [...] (Photographer Yuval Chen spent almost two years snapping shots of hedgehogs in Tel Aviv’s urban landscape. For more see ISRAELITY). [...]

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