Gomma Photography Grant 2024
The Zone
Photographer
Ohad Matalon
The Zone
16 Jan, 2025
HONORABLE MENTION - GOMMA GRANT 2024:
"It is with great honor that we recognize exiled Israeli photographer Ohad Matalon with an Honorable Mention for his powerful and thought-provoking project The Zone. This ongoing exploration maps the complex realities of the Israeli-Palestinian region, delving into its boundaries—geographic, social, historical, and economic. Matalon’s work captures the tension and contradictions inherent in border areas, where conflict, belief systems, and perceptions collide.
The Zone uses a blend of documentary photography, staged, and digitally processed images to examine the extreme relationships between individuals and their environments. With symbols like camels, donkeys, soldiers, and the Star of David, Matalon critiques the ways in which these symbols shape political, social, and religious narratives. His use of irony and humor invites both internal and external observers to rethink the representations of the region, from historical depictions to contemporary media portrayals.
Matalon’s decision to engage deeply with the reality of the occupation is rooted in personal conviction, having refused service in the Israeli army in protest against the occupation—a decision that resulted in imprisonment. An artist who is currently transitioning to Porto, Portugal, after years of active resistance against the Israeli regime, Matalon’s work transcends the visual, drawing connections between photography and painting to create a narrative that navigates the intersection of these two mediums. Through The Zone, Matalon offers a nuanced reflection on the region’s struggles, making a poignant statement about the complexities of life in a land marked by division.« Gomma
*The Zone* is an ongoing project that maps the complexities of this region through its boundaries—geographic, social, historical, and economic. Border areas, marked by conflict and encounters, become sites of tension between different populations, beliefs, and perceptions. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the occupation are central themes, explored symbolically and critically. The work connects the destructive reality of the occupation with the broader, multifaceted aspects of life here. Drawing on documentary photography, *The Zone* blends staged, digitally processed, and traditional documentary images. It examines the extreme relationships between characters and their environments, focusing on symbols like camels, donkeys, the Star of David, soldiers, deserts, and fences. Through irony and humor, these symbols critique the ways they shape perceptions of political, social, and religious aspects of the region, both for those within it and for external observers. The photographs also reference historical depictions of the region by artists drawn to its exoticism and address its current representation in the media. A key concern is the relationship between photography and painting, as the work navigates the space between these two mediums, exploring their intertwined meanings. Ohad Matalon
About the photographer
Ohad Matalon
Ohad Matalon (b. 1972, Kibbutz Eilot, Israel) is an artist who is currently transitioning to Porto, Portugal, after years of active resistance against the Israeli regime. His opposition to the occupation led him to refuse service in the Israeli army in the occupied territories, a decision rooted in conscience that resulted in imprisonment. Matalon earned an MFA in Art from Bezalel Academy of Art, Jerusalem, in 2007, and a BFA in Photography with honors from the same institution in 2001. Over the years, he has intermittently taught photography at leading art academies, including Bezalel Academy, Mishar College, and Shenkar College. Matalon’s work has been widely exhibited in solo exhibitions, with recent highlights including "Lunar Seas, Lunar Days" at the Ramat Hasharon Contemporary Art Gallery (2022) and "Photo Op" at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2015). His international presence is marked by shows like "Across a Dark Land" and "The Zone" at Podbielski Contemporary Gallery in Berlin (2014, 2012), and "Ghost Houses" at the Tamtam Contemporary Art Gallery in Taipei (2013). Earlier exhibitions include "North True South Bright" at Contemporary by Golconda Gallery in Tel Aviv (2010) and "Today" at the Herzliya Biennial of Art, Israel (2009). Matalon’s work has been featured in numerous publications. His book The Zone was published by Podbielski Contemporary Gallery in Berlin, and his solo exhibition catalog was published by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. His work and critical discussions have appeared in Artforum, C International Photo Magazine, Domus, Artco and many more. His work is part of major collections, including the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel Museum, PKB Private Bank Switzerland, and BNP Paribas Bank. Among his accolades are the Israeli Minister of Culture Award, BNL-BNP Paribas Award, Best Work at MIA Fair, and finalist in the 2019 LensCulture B&W competition.
