JIM GOLDBERG
Jim Goldberg is an American artist and photographer, whose work reflects long-term, in-depth collaborations with neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations. Among the many awards Goldberg has received are three National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships in Photography, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award, and the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. His project Raised By Wolves (1985-1995) focuses on two young runaway protagonists, Tweeky Dave and Echo. Their personalities, their histories, and their dreams were given equal attention, and were often presented in their own words. The sensitivity with which Goldberg approached these particular subjects reflects the affection they held for one another, a feeling which is not much shown to the homeless. Goldberg began speaking with and photographing Raised By Wolves’ subjects in 1985, and started assembling the book itself in 1991. Raised By Wolves is Goldberg’s most shambolic instalment, mirroring the experiences of its subjects. The book is made up of photographs, fragments of conversations, hand-written notes and drawings, home movie stills, Xeroxes of government correspondence, and more.
CAROLLE BENITAH
French Moroccan photographer Carolle Benitah, who worked for ten years as a fashion designer before turning to photography in 2001, explores memory, family and the passage of time. Often pairing old family snapshots with handmade accents, such as embroidery, beading and ink drawings, Benitah seeks to reinterpret her own history as daughter, wife, and mother. The work of Carolle Benitah has been published in magazines such as Leica World, Shots Magazine, Photos Nouvelles, Spot, Center for Photography Houston, Foto Noviny, and Lens Culture, among others. The series Photos Souvenirs explores the memories of her Moroccan childhood and teenage years by reworking old family snapshots. In what the Benitah describes as “excavations,” photos are unearthed from albums, categorised, scanned, transposed onto new paper, and finally hand beaded and embroidered. This final step, accomplished with red, black, or gold thread and wire and glass beads is a revelatory act for the artist; ‘To embroider my photograph, I make holes in the paper. With each stitch, I stick the needle through the paper. Each hole is a putting to death of my demons. It is like an exorcism. I stab the paper until I don’t hurt anymore.’