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Purim pics up for Sony prize

Photographer Gili Yaari's series on holiday in Mea Shearim could take home World Photography Award

By Jessica Steinberg
  • Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
 24 February 2015, 8:02 pm
Photographer Gili Yaari commented that each photo in the series stands by itself, but is also more powerful when joined with the others (photo credit: Gili Yaari)
This photograph was featured in Time Magazine with the work of the other shortlisted photographers (photo credit: Gili Yaari)
Yaari said he goes to other famous Purim locations in Israel, including Holon's Adloyada parade, but Mea Shearim remains a favorite (photo credit: GIli Yaari)

It was last year’s photos of Purim in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim that may win Israeli photographer Gili Yaari the Sony World Photography Award, one of the world’s major photography competitions.

Yaari’s series, “Purim Celebrations in Jerusalem” was shortlisted for the Professional Arts and Culture category of the competition, selected from 173,444 images from 171 countries.

The winners will be announced April 23.

The shortlisted images, taken last Purim, March 2014, show ultra Orthodox men and boys celebrating Purim in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood.

It’s one of Yaari’s favorite locations to photograph during the festive holiday.

This photograph of a young boy seated amidst the aftermath of a Purim celebration is one of Yaari’s favorite in the series (photo credit: Gili Yaari)

“Jerusalem, and Mea Shearim specifically, are just visually different,” he said. “They look and feel like a different place and that sparks an interest in the rest of the world. The combination of Purim and the costumes turns it into a kind of fantasy.”

Yaari, a contributing photographer to Jerusalem-based photo agency Flash90, has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, le Monde, The Guardian and Financial Times.

When asked if he has other favorite locations for Purim photography, Yaari laughed and said, ‘Bnei Brak,’ referring to another ultra Orthodox neighborhood (photo credit: Gili Yaari)

His images, along with the other shortlisted photographers, will be shown at London’s Somerset House from April 24 – May 10 as part of the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition.

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