'Home' (George, David, Sophie Newhouse, and Claire Sneddon-Newhouse) by Anne Zahalka
Object numberM2025/083:001
Title'Home' (George, David, Sophie Newhouse, and Claire Sneddon-Newhouse) by Anne Zahalka
Creator Anne Zahalka (photographer)
DescriptionType C photographic print titled 'Home 1 (version 2); George, David, Sophie Newhouse, and Claire Sneddon-Newhouse' by Anne Zahalka, 1998.
This photographic print is part of the 'Home' series completed by Anne Zahalka in 1998.
Artist Statement on 'Home':
These photographs were originally exhibited at the Jewish Museum in Melbourne in an exhibition titled Haimish, a Yiddish word meaning homely, or a yearning for those things associated with home. My interest in the home stems from an interest in the occupants, the objects they collect and their considered display within these settings. The way we decorate our homes and the possessions we surround ourselves with often indicate much about who we are and what we hope to project to others.
In representing Jewish friends in their homes however, the indicators which might confirm identity are absent or unclear here. So what constitutes the Jewish home within these pictures? Is it the occupants, their physiognomy and appearance, or is it the accoutrements which surround them? How can a photograph represent Jewish consciousness or identity in a meaningful way, beyond conventional symbols?
Being born a Jew, christened a Catholic and raised with no religious rituals or tradition from an early age, these questions are difficult for me. I’ve chosen to address them here, within the context of this exhibition broadly dealing with notions of the inside and outside. In considering these images, I hope viewers might explore the values and beliefs underlying their own conception of home and the way it might be perceived by those outside it.
This photographic print is part of the 'Home' series completed by Anne Zahalka in 1998.
Artist Statement on 'Home':
These photographs were originally exhibited at the Jewish Museum in Melbourne in an exhibition titled Haimish, a Yiddish word meaning homely, or a yearning for those things associated with home. My interest in the home stems from an interest in the occupants, the objects they collect and their considered display within these settings. The way we decorate our homes and the possessions we surround ourselves with often indicate much about who we are and what we hope to project to others.
In representing Jewish friends in their homes however, the indicators which might confirm identity are absent or unclear here. So what constitutes the Jewish home within these pictures? Is it the occupants, their physiognomy and appearance, or is it the accoutrements which surround them? How can a photograph represent Jewish consciousness or identity in a meaningful way, beyond conventional symbols?
Being born a Jew, christened a Catholic and raised with no religious rituals or tradition from an early age, these questions are difficult for me. I’ve chosen to address them here, within the context of this exhibition broadly dealing with notions of the inside and outside. In considering these images, I hope viewers might explore the values and beliefs underlying their own conception of home and the way it might be perceived by those outside it.
Production date 1998 - 1998
SubjectAustralian Jewish history, achievers, artists, Jewish life, homes
Object namephotographs
Materialpaper
Dimensions
- width: 605.00 mm
height: 500.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum collection, donated by Anne Zahalka.
Photographed by Anne Zahalka