Foto Friday – Sharon Bareket’s redheads squint in the hot noonday sun

January 23, 2009 - 10:56 AM by Rachel Neiman

Mention red hair and most people will think of Ireland or Scotland. And indeed, those two countries have the highest per capita number of redheaded people. But Israel, too, has its share of fair-skinned Gingers — and that’s not counting the extraordinary number of Israeli women who favor fluorescent orange over blonde from the bottle.

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Photographer Sharon Bareket’s new exhibit, entitled Melano-Mental Photography – Touches of Light/Skin, at the Tavi Dresdner Gallery in Tel Aviv’s funky Neve Tzedek neighborhood, is a series of large-format images of red-heads – from strawberry blonde to vibrant titian – squinting and sweltering in the hot Mediterranean sun. Which begs the question, what are these people doing here?

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“The light skin, the translucent eyelashes, the sun-blinded gaze, eyes all but closed, demarcates a closed circle, loaded with painful meaning in the political, cultural, linguistic and erotic contexts,” writes Doron Rabina in the gallery notes.

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The photos are about Israeli identity: the people in the pictures are native-born sabras yet they appear as aliens in their surroundings.

But pity not the poor redhead! The photos do not take into account the fiery temperament that characterizes them; throughout the ages, from King David to Boudica, Queen Elizabeth I to Thomas Jefferson, there have been red-haired heroes.

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Maybe what Israel needs right now is a redhead to lead us, though there doesn’t seem to be one coming up in time for the February elections.

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

Comments

One Comment on Foto Friday – Sharon Bareket’s redheads squint in the hot noonday sun

  1. Angie on Sun, Jan 25th 2009 5:28 AM

    2. The girl in the second photograph.. wasn’t she in “Meduzot” a couple of years ago?

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