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Judi Schiff
For some years, I have been photographing doorways and facades of buildings in the cities I visit and now have assembled an interestingly diverse set of mounted and framed photographs. Although mainly doors, entrances and architectural features, each work has its own personality, reflecting the atmosphere, history and culture of its city of origin.
The initial inspiration for these was the historic, impressive and beautiful doors of Madrid and Toledo in Spain and resulted in Spanish Entrances photographed on a visit in 1990. The images span the centuries from before the beginning of the Common Era to the present.
For me, doors have symbolic connotations - they can signify the closing of a particular chapter in one's life and the opening of another; they also can have life and death implications - the opening and closing of borders to those in need of protection.
Most of the works consist of a number of photographs each measuring 18cm x 13cm, mounted with acid-free, conservation quality mountboard; some of the frames are constructed of aged and weathered fence palings. However, the work can be provided unframed or the frame may be selected by the purchaser.
Each work is produced in a limited edition of ten.
The works would be suitable for board rooms, official premises, private residences, exhibitions or as major gifts.
Born in Berlin, Germany, my parents fled with me, a one-year-old baby, on one of the last trains to leave Berlin for the border before the outbreak of World War II and six weeks ahead of Kristallnacht.
We arrived in Australia a year later, having received visas in Port Said. I grew up in Melbourne. From the moment I bought my first camera, a box Brownie, as a teenager, I loved photography.
In August, 2002, 64 years after fleeing the country of my birth, my husband, Peter, and I were invited by the City of Berlin to return for a visit. We travelled from Hamburg to Berlin by train, an unintended mirror image of our exit in the 1930s. The collage, Jewish Monuments, Memorials and Memories, Hamburg and Berlin, was produced as a result of our visit to Germany.
The artworks of my travels remind me of the places I've been and seem to bring pleasure to others - a delight for any artist.
Group Shows - Melbourne, Australia
The Jewish Festival of the Arts, Multi Media Exhibition: 1993
Camberwell Rotary Photography Expo: 1993, 1994
Bezalel Arts Multi Media Exhibition: 1993
Centre for Contemporary Photography Summer Salon: 1995, 1996, 1997
Parade College, Bundoora, Annual Art & Craft Show: 1996, 1997, 1998
Annual Festival of Artists, Dandenong Ranges Gardens, Olinda: 1996, 1997
Daimaru, Melbourne - permanent exhibit: 1996 - 2000
Kazari, Prahran: 1996
Caulfield Grammar School 16th Annual Exhibition of Invited Artists: 1997
Art Affairs, Carlton: 1997
Koonung Secondary College Art and Craft Show: 1998
Linden Post Postcard Show, St. Kilda: 1999
Art Infusion, Prahran: 1995 - 1999
Outhouse, Camberwell: 1999 - 2001
Outhouse, Fitzroy: 2002 - 2003
Israel Through Australian Eyes, Bialik College, Hawthorn East: 2002
Indochine Gallery, Hawthorn: 2002
Bohemia, Richmond: 2003
Kosher Culture, Jewish Museum of Australia: 2003
Beba's, Malvern: 2004
Camberwell Camera Club's 50th Anniversary Community Photographic Competition, Hawthorn: 2004
Designs Australia, Carlton: 2005
Kodak Autumn Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Fitzroy: 2005
One-Person Exhibition
Entrances, Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne: Feb. - March 1999
Private Collections
Melbourne, Sydney, Australia, Pittsburgh - USA
Photographs published in the following publications
London (Travel Guide pub. Lonely Planet): 1998
The Australian Jewish News: 2002 -
Port Phillip / Caulfield Leader newspaper: 2002
Journal, magazine of the Jewish Museum of Australia: 2002
Communicator, magazine of B'nai B'rith Australia - New Zealand: 2002
Magazine, The Melbourne Hebrew Congregation: Sept. 2003 - March 2004
Temple Time, magazine of The Temple Beth Israel Community. Cover: July 2004
The Harp, magazine of The King David School (TKDS). Article on book week theme 'Doorways' illustrating collages exhibited at TKDS. Cover: October 2004
Spirits in the Night, pub. The International Library of Photography, Owings, MD, USA. ISBN 0-7951-5244-2: 2004
Antiques & Art in Victoria, magazine: Dec 2004 to April 2005
Melbourne Weekly Magazine 3 April 2005
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