Dreaming in English

Portraits from the Jewish Community in Melbourne, 1989-2006

 

Photographs by Angela Lynkushka

A New Exhibition at Beth Hatefutsoth, March 27 –July 31, 2007

Dreaming in English - Portraits from the Jewish Community in Melbourne, 1989-2006 / Photographs by Angela Lynkushka, an exhibition developed in cooperation with the Jewish Museum of Australia, Gandel Centre of Judaica, Melbourne, tells a distinctively Australian migration and settlement story, bringing to life a vital and thriving community and its individuals. It comprises three photographic essays featuring aspects of Jewish life in Melbourne, from 1989 until 2006.

Continuity and Change: The Melbourne Jewish Community, 1989-2006

This body of work comprises two separate but complimentary sections: a suite of black and white photographs taken from a larger series made between 1988 and 1990, and a series of 6 large color portraits, of Jewish young adults in Melbourne, taken in 2006.

Lynkushka focuses on ordinary individuals living and working within the unique Australian context, as well as more public figures – artists, actors, high profile professionals and the rising generation of activists and intellectuals.

Felix Tuszynski – Texture of Memory, 1999- 2002

The photographs in this section came out of a process which was an intimate and sensitive collaboration between the photographer and Felix Tuszynski, an artist and a Holocaust survivor. The results show the spiritual resilience of an extraordinary man through his art. It is also a testament to the regeneration of the Jewish community and the flowering of Jewish culture in Australia out of the ashes of the Holocaust.

The East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation: Portrait of a Synagogue, 2005

One of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in Australia built in 1877. Its rich Italianate architecture makes it a rare and valuable part of the city's cultural heritage.

The photographic works offer a unique study of this synagogue, which is now undergoing major restoration under the auspices of heritage architects and the National Trust of Australia. 

Curator and catalogue editor: Helen Frajman, Melbourne

Beth Hatefutosh coordinating curator: Geula Goldberg

The exhibition catalogue for sale at the Museum's shop

The exhibition at Beth Hatefutsoth and the catalogue were made possible through a generous donation from the Gandel Charitable Trust, Australia