Country Pick / 2017 / /

Bei Mir Bistu Shein

  • Prize
  • Photographer
    Kovi Konowiecki, United States

Bei Mir Bistu Shein portrays an Orthodox Jewish family
represented in three different parts of the world: United States,
England and Israel. The subjects are displayed in a light and
setting that emphasizes their distinct way of life, which can be
perceived as strange and archaic, yet intriguing to outsiders.
The colors and floral background cause the photographs to take
on a painting-like quality, highlighting the mysticism of the
subjects and their association with a history and tradition that
many may find unfamiliar. Simultaneously, the connection
amongst the various family members helps establish a sense of
warmth and familiarity for the viewer.

The subjects of these portraits exist in a liminal space between
history and modernity. This dichotomy--the old and the new,
modernity and tradition--captures the essence of the subjects-
-people who define their lives by an idea that embodies the
physical and the mystical world perhaps more than any other:
Faith.

Awards 2016 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize: Third Place 2016 Portrait of Britain, British Journal of Photography 2016 Association of Photographers (AOP) Finalist: Series 2016 Life Framer Winner Humans of the World