CRACKS IN THE WALL
The custom of placing written prayers and wishes at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem began about 300 years ago, and over a million notes are placed each year. For this series, Katzenstein zoomed in on the cracks between the stones where pilgrims to the sacred site deposit their folded pieces of paper. The images are displayed not in a linear form, but in a timeline form (created between 10:43-11:08 on the morning of November 30, 2017). It is not only a tactile study of stone and paper, but also one of changing light as the sun began to cast directly on the wall in the later images. It is also important to note that The Dome of The Rock, an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount, sits on the plateau directly above the Western Wall.
Cracks in the Wall is part of Katzenstein’s larger body of work, The Human Experience, a collection of his visual explorations that span over the past 30 years. His work presents the positive aspects of peoples and cultures, and takes the viewer on countless journeys near and far.