Upbringing

Welcome to my graduation project exhibition! In this space (as you can see on the right), you will discover my final graduation work, an end of a chapter in a longterm photographic research called Upbringing. Below you can find some more information about it.




Upbringing is a personal family archive. Through both photography and film, the project tells a collection of stories about intimacy. It is a study of pure human interaction and group dynamics being formed, with childhood as the first stage of defining our place in society. The strong presence of my youngest sister Sara plays a part in making it an autobiographical piece, depicting my own childhood through the developments of hers.

I grew up in an alternative model of education called Unschooling, which advocates learner-chosen activities as a primary means for learning. It embraces the changing interests and creativity of children, in comparison to the rigid structure of typical mainstream education. My interests were clear early on: since as long as I can remember, I took on the task of archiving visual documentation about the family's daily life.

At the intersection between documentary and fiction as the camera interacts with its subjects, the project overlaps the maker’s personal experiences with a wider research on the act of learning. It shows a particular lifestyle with a conscious desire to question norms; to explore how the fine lines between fact and fiction can be used to reimagine versions of the past, present and future. Upbringing is an open invitation to take an active look at the world around us, a contemplation of those in-between moments that make up our daily lives. It is a celebration of growing up with a sense of freedom.




This exhibition will take you on the exact chronological journey that I embarked on, adopting photography as my principal means of expression and connection. Throughout the years, my style and focus gets refined towards a certain direction. But here, it is the very process of getting there that is being highlighted. I will now let the images speak for themselves. Thank you.

Over the years, I have noticed that the child who learns quickly is adventurous. She’s ready to run risks.
She approaches life with arms outspread. She wants to take it all in. She still has the desire of the very young child to make sense out of things. She’s not concerned with concealing her ignorance or protecting herself.
She’s ready to expose herself to disappointment and defeat. She has a certain confidence.
She expects to make sense out of things sooner or later. She has a kind of trust.

— John Holt, educator and coiner of the term ‘unschooling’

the view from grandmother's apartment, israel 2010

beach in front of grandmother's apartment, israel 2010

dad and mom, israel 2010. i used to photograph them more often

brother jonathan at grandmother's, israel 2010

self-built pinhole camera in the garden, france 2011

beach in israel and shopping bag in france, 2011

sister sara in the garden during summer fires, france, 2012

dad, israel 2012

cousin noya, israel 2012

sara, israel 2012

brother michael, france 2012

sara, france 2012

sister nina and cousin tom, israel 2012

sara and parents, france 2012

cat, france 2012

siblings and dad at home, france 2012

home, france 2012

cat, france 2012

sara, france 2012

we begin hosting weekly homeschooling meetings for local families in the garden, france 2013

nina and cat, france 2013

homeschooling children, france 2013

sara in the garden, france 2013

sara in front of the house, france 2013

jonathan, nina and sara in the car, california 2013

sara in our hometown village saint-chamas, france 2014

sara in our hometown village saint-chamas, france 2014

sara laying on a skateboard (you can't see it), france 2014

michael laying on the floor after a waterfight, france 2014

nina laying in bed, france 2014

jonathan sleeping in mom's bed, france 2014

jonathan under a blanket in the garden, france 2014

homeschooling mothers and babies, france 2014

homeschooler merlin, france 2014

michael at home, france 2014

steiner student leila, france 2014

homeschooler tormey, france 2014

sara in the garden, france 2014

homeschoolers baptiste, robin and lisa, france 2014

homeschoolers margot, josephine and friends, france 2015

friends, france 2015

sara drinking rain, france 2015

friend doing laundry, france 2015

homeschooler marion, france 2015

baby at national french homeschooling meeting, france 2015

michael, france 2016

homeschooler theodore sleeping over, france 2017

workaway helper and homeschooler lison, france 2018

france, 2020

homeschooler mirte and nina, france 2015

home, france 2015

jonathan, france 2015

sara and homeschooler jack on halloween, france 2016

sara with the projector and homeschooler theodore, france 2016

nina and michael in florence, italy 2016

sara and jonathan in florence, italy 2016

jonathan and michael at home, france 2016

homeschooler rosalie, france 2016

sara and potatoes from the garden, france 2016

nina and friends at home, france 2016

sara and friends at home, france 2016

michael waking up, france 2017

michael organises a party, france 2017

sara and kitten, france 2017

michael, france 2017

sara, jonathan, michael and homeschoolers, france 2017

homeschoolers in israel 2017

michael's first girlfriend at christmas, france 2017

michael, brothers and homeschooler jeanne, france 2018

michael and sara, france 2018

workaway helper and michael renovating the house, france 2018

trip with michael, greece 2018

sara, france 2018

children, the netherlands 2018

children at montessori school de korg, the netherlands 2018

children, the netherlands 2018

child at montessori school de korg, the netherlands 2018

sara at home, france 2018

homeschooler and sara's best friend, sanoe, france 2018

michael and dad in an airbnb in paris, france 2018. parents are divorced now, dad moves between airbnbs

friend, france 2018

sara in the garden, france 2018

sara and michael at the beach, israel 2019

siblings at the beach with grandmother, israel 2019

jonathan, france 2019

sara, france 2019

sara, france 2019

sara, france 2020

siblings in lockdown, france 2020

michael, france 2020

self-portrait, france 2020

sara and rosalie, france 2020

michael and theodore, france 2020

michael and sara at the store, france 2020

sara, france 2020

jonathan, france 2020

nina and sara, france 2020

sara and nina, france 2020

self portrait in the kitchen with jonathan, sara and cat, france 2021

the end

mom, israel 2012

sara in our hometown village saint-chamas, france 2014