This is one of the first images I took deliberately out of focus. I went out numerous times to walk the streets of the rather dull suburbishcity in which I lived, with a camera in hand. I usually came back empty handed. I could see nothing. Then one day as I was walking up the main street facing the sunset I got an idea to go out of focus.
What a relief – suddenly I felt an interest arising in me – I was seeing so many new things. An overflow of disassociated details literally blurred into a whole that made sense. It changed from something I could not understand to something I could sense and experience. It shifted from my thinking mind into a realm of imagination.
The images below were taken as a preparation for an improvised performance. The performance was part of an art-exhibition opening event that celebrated the theme of ‘city’. I had an idea to prepare visual materials, based on that theme, that we could then project during the performance to establish a landscape. I am not naturally curious or fond of city landscapes so I was faced with a challenge.
These images were taken during two excursions. One was close to home – in a rural-village landscape. The other was in ‘the big city’ Tel-Aviv. Again I found myself drifting towards the out-of-focus perspective. We did not use the images in the performance – and they have never been displayed. Until now.