Michal Ronnen Safdie

UWR87, 1996/2019

Michal Ronnen Safdie (Israeli, American, born 1951), UWR87, 1996/2019, Ultrachrome print, 40 x 20 in. Schwartz Art Collection, Harvard Business School, 2019.8. © Michal Ronnen Safdie.

Michal Ronnen Safdie describes this work from her series Under My Window: “It is photographed from a window on the border of the Jewish and Muslim Quarters, set on an escarpment with a 270-degree view of the Holy Sepulcher, The Western Wall, and the Harem El Sharif/Temple Mount. It represents life ‘as it is’ in the Old City of Jerusalem, with all its diversity of people, complexity of its politics, and weight of its history. The fragile juxtaposition of private and public spaces shared by Israelis and Palestinians. In this image, on a Friday during Ramadan, the praying at the mosques and Western Wall coincide. As the Muslims celebrate Friday Ramadan prayer, the Jews celebrate the anticipation of the Sabbath.”