We are delighted to have added a major work by Laura Pannack to the collection, Eden, from the series Purity.
This is an on-going series that explores the lives of several Hassidic Jewish women. The project focuses on women based in Stamford Hill, Israel and America and concentrates on the key themes of love, family, tradition and femininity. Laura explains about it: For the last 8 years I have been working on a project photographing Orthodox Jewish women. The idea for the project came to me when I realised that despite my Jewish heritage, I felt isolated from my neighbouring community in Stamford Hill which is populated with Orthodox Jewish people. I was raised in a family where my Jewish identity was presented as a culture I belong to, but not a religion I follow and certainly not a way of life.
I could have just taken street photography but I wanted to become more familiar with this different aspect of Jewish culture and explore who my neighbours are. Naturally, I was particularly drawn to meeting women. My curiosity grew as it became clear how polarised our lives are. Most Orthodox Jewish women I have met who are close to my age, have several children; some of them have up to 13 or 14 children.
It has taken many years of patience, tenacity, friendship, trust and honesty to become closer to some very special women who have opened their homes and hearts to me. They have allowed me to capture a family album that I desire to continue, both here and in other countries.
When embarking on any photographic project, my aim is to remind us of things we have in common, to consider how we are all human. Whether it be the universal experience of adolescence or the memory of our first love, of our naked human bodies or our day to day family life, I hope for us all to be able to relate to one another.
This project is open-minded and open-ended. I want the women I work with to create these photographs themselves, to feel empowered and I want to capture their lives with respect. I hope these images can remind us how the love we have for our children is an intense and beautiful devotion.
