Kosherface | Frederic Aranda

Photographer Frederic Aranda presents an arresting collection of work focusing on the distinctive Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis and their families.

At theprintspace galleryPrivate View November 12, exhibition runs November 13 - December 02 2009

Kosherface is not an exhibition about the Holocaust. It is an optimistic encounter with a fascinating section of Orthodox Judaism, presented through the eyes of a fashion portrait photographer. Whilst exploring the unseen life of modern-day Lubavitch Jews, Frederic Aranda invites viewers to discover a thoroughly updated, colourful vision of their unique world. For the very first time, rabbis, together with non-Jews dressed as rabbis are captured in modern aesthetic terms, highlighting the highly public, cross-cultural and relevant role of the Lubavitch movement in the 21st century.

 

The ExhibitionFrederic Aranda presents a balanced account of his experience with the Lubavitch world. Whilst in his final year at Oxford University, Aranda rented a room in the household of the Lubavitch Rabbi in Oxford. For a year, this room became a photographic studio, with Rabbis and their families being photographed there on a daily basis. In the seven years since, Aranda has spent time amongst the Lubavitch community in Brooklyn, but also travelled to places as diverse as Tokyo, Milan, Paris and Berlin to explore the Lubavitch world and to define the kosher face of Judaism today.

The PhotographerFrederic Aranda was born in 1979 in Geneva. He took a place at Pembroke College, Oxford to study Japanese in 1998, whilst running the Oxford University Photographic Society. Two years after graduation, Aranda was shortlisted by The Times as the ‘Young Photographer of the Year 2005’. Frederic Aranda is a portrait photographer and a regular contributor to British and international editions of Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, and for The Sunday Times STYLE magazine. He has worked with prominent figures in international politics, entertainment and fashion. Aranda has received photography awards and merits from the International Photography Awards (USA), the Paris Photo Prize (France), and the Fujifilm Distinctions Awards (UK). He lives in London. wider world.

The GuardianFrederic Aranda