Meet:
Itzik Mor
By Tal Levy
03.11.2021
henever I'm having an artist talk with people I know, I׳m a little more excited to discover the layers that disappear in everyday small talks.
Before I read Itzik's answers to the questions, I opened the images he sent me. The first image that opened up to me was 'You & me' and I immediately had a little shiver which hardly happens to me from photography, or at all.
For an hour I stared at the photographs, captivated by the computer screen.
Itzik has exceptional abilities for lighting and positioning, his photographs are sharp, delicate and touching.
W
'You&me'
80x80cm
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Itzik Mor and I just turned 40 . Recently moved to Porto, Portugal, using analog photography as my medium.
I've been doing so for the past 15 years.
Where did your passion for art begin?
Started drawing first, then, intrigued by art history class in high school I began practicing in sculpture and photography.
How would you describe your work to someone?
Photographs of sculptural gestures, a kind of Archeology of everyday life.
What are you currently working on?
I’m in a new place which brings me new ideas and thoughts about how my physical space inspires me, as well as how it affects my initial interests.
When you start a new work or project, do you plan what you’re going to create or do you improvise?
I feel like I've been working on the same project for more than a decade. While part of it is planned, there's also a lot of improvising.
Usually, I work on small sets in my studio. I give a lot of time to observe the object I would like to shoot and how to light it. Once I get the exact pose, the action of taking a pic is mainly technical. Unlike digital, or even other forms of analogue photography, I only shoot one frame. So, this moment comes with a certain drama which I feel is apparent in the image.
Processing the negative and printing in the darkroom gives me the freedom to take action. Cutting out, cropping a detail from the original frame, with a knife and cardboard, sometimes covering the very object that brought me to take the photo to begin with. The process is long and the different stages encompass multiple paths to improvise on.
'Lily', 2015
13x18cm
Edition of 6
'CutOut', 2017
80x80cm
Can you highlight some of your influences and discuss how your influences have made an impact on you and your practice?
My main influence is the very beginning of photography. When the medium first appeared, it was as if it was imitating paintings,
aesthetically and thematically. In a word: pictorialism. Fascinated by the style and aesthetic of the movement, using large formats and
long exposure on negatives and photographic papers, I found myself tracking the same elements. To mention names, photographers like Edward Weston and Robert Mapplethorpe, made a huge impact on my work. Weston with his simple compositions and ordinary subject matter, yet extraordinary effect. And Mapplethorpe, working in a black studio, my preference))).
What are your plans for the remainder of this year?
I’m looking to get into a good work tempo at my new studio in Porto. Writing lots of emails and making new images. Honestly, the thing I aspire most to get done by the end of 2021 is my website itzikmor.com (it's all a dream).