Trained as a photographer, Ronit Porat’s practice in recent years has focused on historical research related to Germany between the wars, and in particular the Weimar Republic in Berlin (1919-1933). Her work focuses on collecting documents (postcards, magazines, maps, slides, etc.) she finds in various archives or online, processing and juxtaposing images from various sources to create poetic collages and wall installations. Reflecting on the legacy of the photographs she uses, Ronit Porat questions the photographic medium and the various creative approaches it still offers today. The interwar period also saw the advent of the photographic studio and advertising photography, where the human body took on a whole new role in society. This period resonates with her personal experience, as well as with the history of the kibbutz where she was born.
This German society in turmoil is revealed in her collages, between dreams and realities, defying the interpretative sovereignty of archives and historical facts. Her collages combine minor interventions and distinct cut-and-paste methods. She refers to the Dadaist traditions of collage. In so doing, she highlights the role photography plays in the construction of personal and collective memory and knowledge.
For more information : Body Clocks
Cover Photo : Body Clocks n°225, ©Baudoin Lebon
