Tori Ferenc

Photographer
   
Tradition
Public Project
Tradition
Copyright Tori Ferenc 2024
Updated Mar 2023
Topics Spotlight
Summary
"Tradition" is a series focusing on the Jewish Orthodox community in North London and their celebration of the Purim holiday.
People of different cultural backgrounds and traditions made London their home, but an Orthodox Jewish community is certainly one of the most private. More than 30,000 Hasidic Jews live in Stamford Hill, a neighbourhood in northeast London. During the annual Purim festival, a giant street party is held where children dress in fancy costumes while adults drink and socialise in celebration of the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia.

Led by a curiosity about such a traditional, religious community in one of the most modern cities in the world, I have been documenting Purim since 2016. Being one of the most festive Jewish holidays, it gives a rare insight into the generally tight-knit community of Stamford Hill. It seems like all boundaries vanish for one day. Adolescent boys drink with their friends and dance on platform trucks with klezmer techno blasting from the speakers. Almost everyone is wearing a costume the more extravagant, the better. Since the beginning of my project, I have seen children dressed up as Rubik's cubes, popcorn boxes, aeroplanes and bananas.

For me, Purim is a mixture of past and present. There is a contradiction between the modern references of pop icons, fake cigarettes, and the traditional values at the core of the community's faith. Inspired by the work of Diane Arbus and Mary Ellen Mark, I want to evoke a similar sense of timelessness with this series, hence my decision to shoot this project on an old Rolleiflex camera and limit myself to a restrained black-and-white palette.
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Tradition by Tori Ferenc
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