Israeli photographer Shifra translates all the noises, smells, and hustle-and-bustle of urban landscapes into compelling black-and-white images that capture fleeting memories of moments almost forgotten. Within these glimpses of ordinary life, she has created a parallel reality, an alternative realm that is at once a perfect mirror reflection of reality and yet strikingly distorted, sometimes disintegrating into an entirely new level of abstraction.
Shifra’s photographs are ephemeral tributes to the essence of what it means to be human, beyond all the material trappings so familiar to us. The distortion, or blurring, of the image forces the viewer to go deeper to access the complex emotive terrain that lies beneath the surface. As she explains, “The blurriness makes me think that perhaps we are all transparent, maybe not just in the eye of the camera, but to those around us as well.” Through her work, Shifra invites us to stop and really look at the true spirit of those supposed strangers who pass us on the streets every day — and to marvel at all the possibility contained within.