On 30 May 2018 the exhibition “A Lasting Faith: Orthodoxy in the Holy Land. Photographs by Dafna Tal” opens at the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre.
The exhibition is the result of three years’ work by the contemporary Israeli artist and reveals the rich heritage of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land. The display consists of 38 photographs depicting people and places connected with the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land – present-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. The series presents a palette of portraits of clergymen at prayer, photographs of church services and rites, the interiors of churches and landscapes.
From the moment of its emergence in the Holy Land, the cradle of monotheistic religions, Christianity has maintained a permanent presence in the region. Twenty centuries later churches, monasteries and convents of all confessions remain a part of the local landscape – in the towns, on the tops of hills or in remote desert spots. The Orthodox Church occupies some key sites in these sacred places and its institutions, monks and nuns, priests and pilgrims are an inseparable part of the population of the Holy Land.
Inspired by the spirit of these places, Dafna Tal undertook an in-depth photographic project. In a series of exceptional pictures, she has not only captured with extreme precision the images of members of the Orthodox communities, but also, thanks to a deep understanding of the nature of the Orthodox faith, conveyed the atmosphere of these secluded locations that are rarely accessible to the general public.
Dafna Tal was born in Israel. She graduated from the school of the International Centre of Photography (ICP) in New York and went on to obtain a European Diploma in Cultural Project Management from the Association Marcel Hicter in Finland, Cyprus and Greece. She has had personal exhibitions at leading museums and galleries in Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. At the present time, she is living and working in Jerusalem.
Organised by The State Hermitage Museum with the participation of The Consulate General of the State of Israel, Saint Petersburg.