matthieu gafsou: terres compromises

‘terres compromises’ by matthieu gafsou, 2010

swiss photographer matthieu gafsou, appreciated for his landscape or urban landscape photography, has developed the series ‘terres compromises’. while traveling in israel, palestine and jordan in november of 2010, gafsou aimed to document the concept of the ‘israeli settlement’. the artist soon realized his vision of these three lands was as an inseparable land. in viewing the combination of official and unofficial lands and borders within the region, gafsou felt these notions were simply a concept or theory devised to structure the land division, rather than the reality of the land itself. the photographic exploration of the modern and ancient worlds existing within this land reveals the artist’s paradoxical feeling towards the area.

in the collection, gafsou seeks to investigate the contradictory aspects of the region. he noticed ‘tension between leisure, religious observance and militarization‘ in this highly disputed land. the artist commented upon his series, ‘this country seems to have no specific identity (due especially to the incredible diversity of people living there) and to be shaken between irreconcilable poles… I don’t know if I am being fair, but I think that showing things like this can engage thinking‘.

‘terres compromises’ not only approaches the subject of middle eastern conflict as a singular idea, but also seeks to explain the way in which the world engages with this war torn region both through contemporary media and by visiting the region as a tourist. gafsou’s documentary photographic approach attempts to explain the newness and strangeness one feels when visiting unfamiliar territories. through images of urban and rural spaces devoid of other human figures, the artist is able to create an experience that is simultaneously overwhelming and calm.

a group floating in the dead sea