KOSHERFACE
A photographic exhibition by Frederic Aranda
At theprintspace gallery
Private View November 12, exhibition runs November 13 - December 02 2009
Photographer Frederic Aranda presents an arresting collection of work focusing on the distinctive Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis and their families.
Kosherface is not an exhibition about the Holocaust. It is an optimistic encounter with a fascinating section of Orthodox Judaism, presented through the eyes of a fashion portrait photographer. Whilst exploring the unseen life of modern-day Lubavitch Jews, Frederic Aranda invites viewers to discover a thoroughly updated, colourful vision of their unique world. For the very first time, rabbis, together with non-Jews dressed as rabbis are captured in modern aesthetic terms, highlighting the highly public, cross-cultural and relevant role of the Lubavitch movement in the 21st century.
Chabad-Lubavitch
250 years of tradition have made the Chabad-Lubavitch movement the pulse at the heart of modern Judaism. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the Lubavitch stand out from other Orthodox Jewish movements for their ability to adapt to and embrace the modern world. In the last 50 years, they have grown from a small Russian-born community into a vibrant worldwide and highly public movement. With 3800 Rabbis leaving their home to establish themselves in over 61 foreign countries, they set out to build communities and provide support in the most unlikely locations and as such, are often the only Orthodox Jewish presence in a given town or city. The Lubavitch are a fascinating modern phenomenon, a strict and deeply religious orthodox movement reaching out to non-observant Jews on a global scale. They are the kosher face to the non-observant, unaffiliated, non-orthodox Jewish world, and as such, a controversial kosher face to the world.
“It’s a new entity: an ultra-orthodox Jewish movement that attracts mainly non-orthodox Jews”
Sue Fishkoff, The Rebbe’s Army, Random House, 2003
The Exhibition
Frederic Aranda presents a balanced account of his experience with the Lubavitch world. Whilst in his final year at Oxford University, Aranda rented a room in the household of the Lubavitch Rabbi in Oxford. For a year, this room became a photographic studio, with Rabbis and their families being photographed there on a daily basis. In the seven years since, Aranda has spent time amongst the Lubavitch community in Brooklyn, but also travelled to places as diverse as Tokyo, Milan, Paris and Berlin to explore the Lubavitch world and to define the kosher face of Judaism today.
The Photographer
Frederic Aranda was born in 1979 in Geneva. He took a place at Pembroke College, Oxford to study Japanese in 1998, whilst running the Oxford University Photographic Society. Two years after graduation, Aranda was shortlisted by The Times as the ‘Young Photographer of the Year 2005’. Frederic Aranda is a portrait photographer and a regular contributor to British and international editions of Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, and for The Sunday Times STYLE magazine. He has worked with prominent figures in international politics, entertainment and fashion. Aranda has received photography awards and merits from the International Photography Awards (USA), the Paris Photo Prize (France), and the Fujifilm Distinctions Awards (UK). He lives in London.
theprintspace gallery
Theprintspace is a professional photographic printing studio & gallery, used by London’s top creative artists & photographers because they can control the creative process themselves. It is the first pro lab to offer fully colour managed prints & offer the full range of professional print types, from silver-based Digital C-types to Epson Giclees to CMYK Proofs. The quality is as high as can be, which is why theprintspace is consistently chosen by Turner Prize nominees and National Portrait Gallery award winners. At the same time, theprintspace’
More Information
A selection of limited edition prints will be available to purchase from Exhibit X
For press enquiries email info@fredericaranda.com
For theprintspace please email geri@theprintspace.co.uk
Chabad-Lubavitch:
Frederic Aranda: www.fredericaranda.com
Exhibit X: www.exhibitx.co.uk
theprintspace gallery: www.theprintspace.co.uk
