Shadows of Jerusalem, 7 min., 2022
“This image has never left me since the first time I found myself alone with Jerusalem at night. And it is not even an image, but an understanding. Yes, yes—an understanding. I noticed long ago that among the many inexplicable talents of this City, there is one that stands out from the rest: any object or situation, no matter how insignificant, once caught in its aura, can suddenly grow to enormous proportions and reveal itself from a completely unexpected angle. Moreover, this thing is usually the most trivial and completely unnoticed in everyday life. And when its aura covers an image as powerful as a shadow... People come to this City. They think they are great and important. They walk its streets with spears and swords. They put on tefillin, carry crosses, or count prayer beads with closed eyes. They think they decide the fate of the world. Then they leave. Others come in their place. With pistols and machine guns. And everything repeats from the beginning: tefillin, crosses, prayer beads, the fate of the world... Then they leave too. Crossroads of history after crossroads of history, century after century. And the City watches this endless dance and remains silent. And, in silence, it absorbs these people, generation after generation. Their passions, ambitions, delusions, and revelations. It absorbs them and leaves their vague, blurred shadows on its streets. For us, we are the ones who exist. But for it, we are 'them.' And, I don’t know why, it seems to me that this is exactly how it sees us.” (Dmitri Brikman)
