Avishag is my beloved 17 years old niece. As I was “hunting” stylish strangers on the streets of Tel Aviv I suddenly understood I have more than a few family members and friends which are easily falling into this category of interesting and cool people. Yay, no embarrassment involved here. Easy job. Easy? think again, illustrating a close friend or a family member is so much harder than illustrating a stranger. With strangers, I feel free to make my own interpretations, but when a familiar person is “in my hands”, I feel obliged to portraying not only my impression but the essence of this person, based on our deep acquaintance.
About the Street Style project
I started this new project last week, documenting street style in Tel Aviv. I started illustrating people that I found to be interesting and stylish. Some of the people I illustrate are a part of my family or are friends of mine, others though are strangers that I just happened to see while walking through the streets of Tel Aviv. If I’m in the right mood, I can easily step out and ask this man or woman if I could take their photo as a reference. If not… well, I’d have to use my photographic memory.
The street style project is part of The Lives of Others illustration series. The Lives of Others started as a side project just a few months ago and since then, it became a major part of my artistic activity. Under this headline, I collect interesting moments while working, traveling, or just hanging out in the city that I love – Tel Aviv.
Ten years ago I had a street style Cullom in Haaretz newspaper in collaboration with Yanai Yechiel, one of Haaretz magazine’s photographers. How We Dress was the Cullom name. It had some similarities to my current project, but several differences as well. How We Dress was based on photography (Yechiel) and personal interviews (Me). I was trying to learn what motivates people to dress the way they do, using clothing as a tool of self-definition. It was less about fashion and more about personality.
With this current project, I’m still interested in the personal style more than fashion and trends, but I don’t use texts yet. For now, I’m interested in adding my own personal perspective as it is reflected through my illustrations and the choices I make by picking the people out of the crowd.
Ilanit Shamia 