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| © Yoav Horesh, 30 Minutes Over Europe, 2008 |
Yoav Horesh: In the summer of 2008, I followed my girlfriend of two years to Europe to try living and working in Germany. The decision came after six months in a cross-continent long-distance relationship. But there was more. After three years of teaching photography non-stop across three states on a weekly basis, I was exhausted. My hectic schedule meant I was neglecting my own photographic work. I needed time away from New York and teaching.
By the winter of the same year, I found myself with suitcases and camera equipment in Berlin, searching for explanations and ideas about what to do for three more months in Europe. I decided what was called for was a European adventure, to explore and understand my new reality through my photographic work.
Transitional spaces fascinate me. I have made photographs across the world concerned with the social and psychological impact of trauma on the landscape and how photography deals with it. My photographs show the physical and emotional evidence of trauma and memory on history, society and place.
When setting out to explore Europe and my inner workings, these same ideas were buried somewhere in the back of my head, and my new project and journey started with them. During this journey I experienced unbelievable hospitality from friends and family who hosted me in their homes, supported and encouraged me. I am also lucky to have a brother in the import / export business that helped me get access to a massive cargo airplane.
I photographed there while flying thousands of miles over Europe during the magical hours between day and night. During the entire 5 hour flight, I was making photographs that expressed and explored the idea of transition, both physically and emotionally, across countries and borders.
Setting up a large view camera and photographing the entrance to the airplane’s cockpit at 600 mp/h was a challenge like none I had ever attempted before. Producing clarity and a sharp photograph after thirty minutes with an open shutter during flight, was something I had not imagined possible.
Six months later, I realized that the work I created in Belgium, Spain, Gibraltar, England, Germany and Israel would come together as a body of work titled Intransition.
In photography, as in life, when we embrace the unexpected and surprising we are given the confidence that our vision and emotions can be communicated and then transcended.