This project began after I happened upon some historic stereoscopic photographs of Palestine, taken circa 1900.

This project began after I happened upon some historic stereoscopic photographs of Palestine, taken circa 1900. After experimenting with juxtaposing some of my own photographs from the region with the old stereoscopic images and being intrigued with the results, I decided to pursue this idea more deeply and purchased a larger set of images that also included a reference book with text about each photograph along with a map indicating the location where the photograph was taken. Fascinated by this map, which looks like an old treasure-hunt map with its numbered spots and dotted path lines, I began to want to retrace its steps and see for myself the view today where those photographs were taken over 100 years ago. That is when I decided to take a new “updated” photo from as close to the same angle at the same location as humanly possible and juxtapose it with the original stereoscopic image, and thus began this project.

I traveled to Israel and the Occupied Territories with the goal of revisiting those places with my 4” x 5” view camera. The resulting cards feature a new photo on the left, with the original image on the right. When viewing the modified stereoscope card via a proper viewer the resulting 3D image can look chaotic, or disintegrated – a metaphor of the state of things in the middle east.

This project began after I happened upon some historic stereoscopic photographs of Palestine, taken circa 1900. After experimenting with juxtaposing some of my own photographs from the region with the old stereoscopic images and being intrigued with the results, I decided to pursue this idea more deeply and purchased a larger set of images that also included a reference book with text about each photograph along with a map indicating the location where the photograph was taken. Fascinated by this map, which looks like an old treasure-hunt map with its numbered spots and dotted path lines, I began to want to retrace its steps and see for myself the view today where those photographs were taken over 100 years ago. That is when I decided to take a new “updated” photo from as close to the same angle at the same location as humanly possible and juxtapose it with the original stereoscopic image, and thus began this project.

I traveled to Israel and the Occupied Territories with the goal of revisiting those places with my 4” x 5” view camera. The resulting cards feature a new photo on the left, with the original image on the right. When viewing the modified stereoscope card via a proper viewer the resulting 3D image can look chaotic, or disintegrated – a metaphor of the state of things in the middle east.

In my work I see photography as a delicate instrument that helps us gather information about this world, specifically to review mankind’s footprint on it. Of course within the specific context of Israel and Palestine the photographs take on the political issue of fluctuating borders and the very particular impact power and politics has unleashed on the land. I believe the updating of these stereoscopic images speaks to the changes of the past 114 years in a newly imagined dialogue.