Uploaded May 2011 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Jason's photography project is raising funds through Kickstarter through the beginning of July. To help fund this project, see: kickstarter.com/projects/1903672981/the-black-garden-a-new-photography-project
The Black Garden is to be the second book in a trilogy that was begun with his powerful Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith (recently reviewed on National Public Radio and winner of Best Photography Book by POYi) where he interpreted the former Soviet Union as a story about childhood maturation -- from childhood fairy tales to adult mythology. And like mythology, this new story, The Black Garden, centers on the nature of duality. Jason's past work has been accomplished on a Guggenheim Fellowship. Please consider helping fund what is sure to be a timeless, poignant body of photographs.
From Jason Eskenazi:
My project The Black Garden is a photographic investigation of the East/West divide. Basing myself in Istanbul for one year, I will photograph the texture of life throughout the Middle East and beyond as the Muslim world continues to confront the tide of western-style ideals for better or for worse.
I want to understand the contemporary dilemmas of our civilization by seeking modern equivalents to the East/West dichotomy. From the mythic Trojan War, to the split of the Roman Empire, to Islamic control over Western Europe, to today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the revolutions in Egypt and Libya, human history has been plagued by successive waves of both territorial and cultural conquest across the Eurasian divide over the course of 3000 years. This ancient world spanned the same locales where many of the world's crises are now taking place.
After 9/11, the real battles and new borders of the 21st century are no longer being fought over physical territory, but over imagination, West vs. East, of how best to attain, order, and maintain a society. I want to investigate this dichotomy.
Jason Eskenazi website: jasoneskenazi.com
NYTimes Lens Blog: lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/showcase-15
Kids With Cameras: jasoneskenazi.com/kwc/index.html
Studio 360 Interview with Jason: studio360.org/2009/dec/18/aha-moment-robert-frank
Jason's photography project is raising funds through Kickstarter through the beginning of July. To help fund this project, see: kickstarter.com/projects/1903672981/the-black-garden-a-new-photography-project
The Black Garden is to be the second book in a trilogy that was begun with his powerful Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith (recently reviewed on National Public Radio and winner of Best Photography Book by POYi) where he interpreted the former Soviet Union as a story about childhood maturation -- from childhood fairy tales to adult mythology. And like mythology, this new story, The Black Garden, centers on the nature of duality. Jason's past work has been accomplished on a Guggenheim Fellowship. Please consider helping fund what is sure to be a timeless, poignant body of photographs.
From Jason Eskenazi:
My project The Black Garden is a photographic investigation of the East/West divide. Basing myself in Istanbul for one year, I will photograph the texture of life throughout the Middle East and beyond as the Muslim world continues to confront the tide of western-style ideals for better or for worse.
I want to understand the contemporary dilemmas of our civilization by seeking modern equivalents to the East/West dichotomy. From the mythic Trojan War, to the split of the Roman Empire, to Islamic control over Western Europe, to today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the revolutions in Egypt and Libya, human history has been plagued by successive waves of both territorial and cultural conquest across the Eurasian divide over the course of 3000 years. This ancient world spanned the same locales where many of the world's crises are now taking place.
After 9/11, the real battles and new borders of the 21st century are no longer being fought over physical territory, but over imagination, West vs. East, of how best to attain, order, and maintain a society. I want to investigate this dichotomy.
Jason Eskenazi website: jasoneskenazi.com
NYTimes Lens Blog: lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/showcase-15
Kids With Cameras: jasoneskenazi.com/kwc/index.html
Studio 360 Interview with Jason: studio360.org/2009/dec/18/aha-moment-robert-frank
