Project Synopsis

Introduction & Background

In 1999 I left a small town in Wales, the place I was born and bred and travelled over 3000
miles to experience life immersed in a different culture living in a communal society on a
Kibbutz in Northern Israel (located approximately 300 metres from the border with Lebanon).
I also spent time exploring  the rest of the country from top to bottom and visiting many of its
historical sights.

Years later (February/March 2019) I set off once again from Wales to  re-visited many of the
places I had been to on my original journey, including  the the historical sights of Jerusalem,
The Dead Sea, Masada, and Tel Aviv.

I have also regained contact with 3 other volunteers I was on Kibbutz Bar am with and I am
lucky enough to of had them share pictures with me that were taken in 1999.

Project Description

The purpose of this project is as follows:

On looking back over old and new images taken by me and fellow Kibbutznik volunteers, I
wanted to produce a body of work that truly encompassed our experiences, both past and
present which featured images from both timelines.

The representations used in this project are meant to achieve several goals. The first of which
is to compare and contrast the photos taken in 1999 using low end compact and disposable
cameras with the pictures taken with modern digital cameras, including a DSLR; they also
reflect the many barriers and separations that the people and the country itself live through
on a daily basis and the fact that change can take a long time to come into effect; and lastly
they provide a snapshot of people and places in a moment in time that allows the viewer to
focus on the aspect of how people live their daily lives and interact with their surroundings.