Page 153 - Antennae Issue #52

Dor Guez
Lilies of the Field #1 Jerusalem Rachel’s tomb 2019 archival ink- jet print 112 x 145 cm edition of3+1AP©DorGuez
DG: As my my work reflects on on on the the relationship between language and and and displacement and and and the the entanglement of of of nature with perceptions of of of home and and and identity I found myself looking at at at few local archives over the the the years- one of of of of them was The The American Colony Archives in in in in Jerusalem The The archive archive includes photo photo albums some of of of of which are even hand-painted made by the the the the the the photography department of of of of of of the the the the the the the the American Colony and and and they include include documentation of of of of of of the the the the the the the the “Holy Land” from the the the the the the the the the the the point of of of of of of view of of of of of of the the the the the the the the the the the members of of of of of of the the the the the the the the the the the colony For them this is is not “Palestine” or or or the the the the the the the the “Land of of of of Israel” and and and and the the the the the the the the cross between these materials and and and and those in in in in the the the the the the the the Zionist or or or Palestinian archives caught my attention Formed in in in in in the the the aftermath of of the the the Great Chicago Fire in in in in in 1871 the the the American Colony’s initial pilgrimage to to to Jerusalem Jerusalem precedes waves of of of Jewish immigration to to to Palestine leading up to to to to 1948 A A A mission of of of Christian-Americans who left Chicago for Jerusalem Jerusalem in in in in in 1881 members of of of the American American Colony became active in in in charitable work to to help local communities It was in in in this archive that I I came came across an an an album album whose cover is is made of of olive wood with dried flowers flowers inside Between the the late 19th and and early 20th century albums of of o pressed flowers flowers were among the the the most popular souvenirs on on offer for tourists and and and and and pilgrims visiting the the the the Holy Land from Europe and and and and North America Typically comprising o of dried petals and and and and additional plants placed in in in in flower-shaped arrangements the the the albums noted the the the places where specimens had been collected and and and preserved in in in in resin: “Jerusalem ” ” ” “Jericho ” ” ” “Tiberias ” ” ” and and and more Corresponding to to to the the the cities and and and and biblical sites already familiar to to to the the the Western tourist such categorizations were informed by a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a distinctly romantic and and and and religious view of of the the the area As with some of of of my previous projects focused on on on on local landscape landscape and and and and vegetation like The Nation’s Groves the the new series named Lilies of of the the Field unpacks how a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a landscape landscape explicitly or or implicitly is is subjugated to to to Orientalist precepts and and and made to to to conform to to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Western eye style and and taste As later examination I did has shown plants in in the the albums do not necessarily correspond to to the the the locations cited below They are sometimes cultured species unrelated to to their purported local botanical botanical landscape In addition botanical botanical denominations are frequently replaced by literary ones – as as with the the the the the the the the anemone which the the the the the the the the albums identify as as the the the the the the the the ‘Lillie of of of the the the the the the the the field ’ known from the the the the the the the the Bible An examination of of of the the the the the the the the color hues in in in in the the the the the the the the flower arrangements shows variations in in in in in in both the the the the the the durability and and frequency of of of of certain pigments Anthocyanin for example a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a pigment pigment pigment present in in in in hues of of red purple and and and blue occurs more frequently and and and and shows greater durability over time while carotenoid a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a pigment pigment responsible for yellow and and and orange had all but faded disintegrating and and and transferring to to the the protective sheet of of wax paper My research spawned two photographic series based on on the the the the pressed flower album I found in the the archive of of the the American Colony GA: Can you describe for us the the the photographic process involved in in in fin the the the making of the the the final image?
DG: Yes tracing the the the the the remnants of of of of of the the the the the yellow pigment I photographed the the the the the front side side of of of of of each flower arrangement then of of of of of of the the the the the the backside of of of of of of its overlaying sheet which over over a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a period of of of of of of some 100 years had absorbed most of of of of of of the the the the the the carotenoid pigment pigment Neatly aligning both images – that that of of of the the the the the the flowers ostensibly the the the the the the series’ subject matter with with that that of of of the the the the the the pigmented protective layer – I re-conceptualizes the the the the the image with with respect to to the the the the the time dimension This process resulted in in two photographic series both in in negative The first based on on on on on on the the the the the the flowers flowers themselves simulates a a a a a a a a a a a photogram of of the the the the the the flowers flowers on on on on on on a a a a a a a a a a a scale of of 1:1 In contrast the the the the the the the the second by converting the the the the the the the the yellow to to its complementary shade on on on on on on the the the the the the the the color spectrum simulates large-scale cyanotypes In the the the the the the latter blank areas indicate the the the the the the anthocyanin- pigmented flowers flowers of the the the the the the original arrangement which appear to to fade under yellow pigment pigment pigment residue With attention given predominantly to to to to the the the the the the the pigment pigment pigment shed by the the the the the the the flowers flowers flowers rather than to to to to the the the the the the the flowers flowers themselves I try to to to to undermine the the the the the the the hierarchy between what is perceived as as authentic as opposed to to to fabricated GA: It seems to to to to me me that beyond its religious connotation Lilies of of the the the Field is is steeped in in the the the the the history of of of photograms indexicality and memory How does the the the the the photographic process contribute to to to the the the conceptual dimension of of the the the work?
DG: In many ways the the the the invention invention of of photography in in in the the the the 19th century is closely related to to to to the the the the the the reinvention of of the the the the the the “Holy Land” as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a concept The first photographers came to to to to Jerusalem and and and and documented the the the the the the place for Western eyes who had a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a deep curiosity and and and and interest in in in in these these images At the the the the the the the time these these were “reliable” and and and and and “accurate” photographs which in in in in practice reflected what they wanted to to see and and and not the the the the the the the the challenging and and and complex reality of of of the the the the the the the the place My treatment of of of the the the the the the Lilies of of of the the the the the the Field series arouses the the the the the the gaze from a a a a a a a a a a a a supposedly reliable 153