Art project · Portraiture
At Eye Level
The first moment is a little tense. Unusual faces. Not ordinary. A tingle down the back. Then, at second glance, the smile arrives. At once the heart opens. The eyes light up. And every time, all over again, I fall in love. In love with the lack of pretense. In love with the diversity. In love with someone who isn't me. In love with the soul of extraordinary people.
The "At Eye Level" exhibition opens the events marking the month of awareness for the equal rights of men and women with disabilities, with a range of photographs you can't help but fall for. The artist Sharon Gabay captured dozens of moving moments of people with and without disabilities — moments full of thought and power.
Sometimes a person's disability draws our attention, yet keeps us from truly looking. The long moments the artist spent in the company of these people — bringing the lens in close, in tight frame, to a singular gaze and expression — demand that we look. And that looking captures the heart.
The exhibition is the fruit of a collaboration between the artist, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the Shekel association, which initiated it in order to present men and women with disabilities and bring them to the forefront of cultural and social life. It was shown at Tel Aviv-Yafo City Hall and at the Jerusalem Theatre.
Looking at eye level, the exhibition places at its center people with disabilities who — together with their families — chose, with courage, to reveal themselves. It meets their gaze and uncovers a glimpse of what lies beyond the disability: a rich, sensitive world.
The Exhibition
"At Eye Level" was shown at the Jerusalem Theatre — where the portraits hung on the Jerusalem-stone wall, and visitors stopped and were photographed in front of them — and at Tel Aviv-Yafo City Hall, where they were spread across the large glass windows, at eye level with passers-by. Public figures and elected officials took part in the opening ceremonies.
All photographs © Sharon Gabay
The "At Eye Level" exhibition is available for loan and display at galleries, institutions and cultural centers. The exhibition is available for display ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, marked annually on December 3. Get in touch →