This review was first published in the Hackney Citizen, 15th November 2009
Madame Lillie's
Presents ‘Orthodox Jewish Life – Stamford Hill’
A Photographic
Exhibition by local photographer Andrew Aitchison
(Part of Photo
Month 2009)
If
you live in Hackney, you’ve seen them: otherworldly figures in black hats and coats,
flowing beards and sidelocks, perhaps with an incongruous Coke can or mobile
phone in hand.
They
are the Hassidim, the Orthodox Jews of North-East London.
Even
to other London Jews, they’re something of a mystery. This is a thoroughly self-contained
community with its own schools, shops, and housing estates.
So
Andrew Aitchison’s new exhibition and accompanying book constitute something of
a coup. When he moved to Stamford Hill, Aitchison (originally from very
un-Semitic Wiltshire) was inspired to begin a personal photography project,
documenting the lives of his Orthodox Jewish neighbours.
Over
five years, he gained the trust of the community through a combination of
persistence and respect. The result of this trust is an exhibition of ten canvas-printed
photographs offering a rare insight into the rituals and habits of Orthodox
Jewish life.
Many are visually striking: ‘New Sefer
Torah’, a sea of black coats and hats punctuated by pale, watchful faces, and
‘Pidyon Haben’, a richly-coloured close-up of a baby being draped in gleaming,
intricate gold jewellery.
While Aitchison places his own work squarely
in the documentary tradition, many of these photographs appear highly stylised.
The face of the young boy learning the Torah in ‘Upsherin’ is illuminated in
surrounding blackness; this may be an accidental effect, but nevertheless its
light and composition is reminiscent of classical painting.
Almost all these photographs are of men;
only one picture has any women in it. Aitchison explains that this is partly
due to the difficulty of photographing women, and also because of his wish to
respect the community’s desire for privacy.
If there’s a criticism of this exhibition,
it’s that there’s no particular ethos behind it; Aitchison simply wanted to
document these rarely-shown scenes.
However, the photographs are fascinating in
their own right and the exhibition is worth visiting, if only to glimpse a
world very nearby, but somehow very far removed.
'Orthodox Jewish
Life' is at Madame Lillie’s Gallery, 10
Cazenove Rd, N16 6BD,
until Sunday 6th December. Opening hours Friday - Sunday 12-6pm. To view by
appointment: 07990695363. www.madamelillies.org
