The project was carried out at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, between 2006 to 2017 and included the region of Nation’s Leaders Plot, the national military cemetery, and the Yad-Vashem National Holocaust Institute. The images and video examine how national ideals are expressed through memorial institutions’ architectural aesthetics and emphasize the visitor’s emotional experience in these places.
“Visions of Heaven and Hell” deals with the gaps between pleasing aesthetics and the trauma-based national identity.
Through the use of still images, video, and image manipulation, Altaratz creates a rich visual experience that intensifies the aesthetic character of the images along with the viewer’s emotional response while at the same time blurring his critical thinking.
The show was curated by Sara Kopelman
