Mordechai Zilberman (born in 1934) sits for a portrait, dressed in the clothes of his recently deceased partner Aryeh. On the left side of the frame, the hand of Mordechai’s caretaker, Rajoo. March 22 2019. Jerusalem. Israel. Mordechai and Aryeh lived together as a couple for exactly sixty years. When Aryeh’s health deteriorated, and he was hospitalized, they were terrified that they would not be safe at the hospital in Jerusalem because they were in a same-sex relationship. It was on Aryeh’s eighty-eight birthday, exhausted by anxiety and pain, that they decided not to return to the hospital again. Mordechai told Aryeh that he could rest, and, on that night, Aryeh passed away, at their mutual home. Mordechai is often wearing Aryeh’s clothes to feel closer to him. Despite progressive reforms in recent decades, LGBTQ+ members living in Israel, are still subjected to legal discrimination, stigmas, and exclusion, fueled by influential and political groups.
Oded Wagenstein (born 1986) uses the photographic medium to explore the relationship between Aging, Exclusion, and Longing. A Sociology, Anthropology and Film and Television graduate from Tel Aviv University. His work has been published, among other platforms, by National Geographic, BBC, The Guardian, VOGUE and has been displayed around the world, including exhibitions presented in the National Portrait Gallery (London, UK), the United Nations (NYC, USA), and the State Historical Museum of Russia in the Red Square (Moscow, Russia). Working with JDC-ESHEL, part of a global NGO advocating for the elderly.
[ PORTRAITS ] A single photograph of a person or group of people that increases the understanding and appreciation of the subject(s). Selfies or self-portraits are acceptable. Each participant is allowed to enter up to 10 images. The images must be taken in 2019 or 2020.
Judges for Portraits
