Red Wall Gallery - School of the Photographic Arts 168 Dalhousie Street K1N 7C4 Ottawa Canada
Photographer Leslie Hossack explores three iconic cities and three interrelated themes in this collection of images of Berlin, Jerusalem and Masada.
Having completed photographic studies of urban change and continuity in Paris in 2009, and National Socialist architecture in Berlin in 2010, Hossack felt compelled to travel to Israel in May 2011. Her photographic study of Nazi architecture in Berlin was a springboard to the current body of work, which looks at life today in Israel’s charged landscape.
Historically, both Berlin and Jerusalem have been referred to as “cities of stone” and Hossack’s scope also encompasses a third city of stone, the ancient hilltop fortress of Masada. Through the works in Cities of Stone – People of Dust she considers the architecture of memory and commemoration, the theme of loss, longing and lamentation, and the question of inclusion and exclusion.
“… I do hope that Cities of Stone – People of Dust will raise awareness and pose questions. The question that kept running through my mind as I explored historic Berlin and modern Israel was: At what cost?”
At the 2010 X Ottawa Photography Festival, the Portfolio Review jury, unanimously selected Leslie Hossack to be awarded an exhibition in the Red Wall Gallery.