Recently photographer Martin Kollar received the prestigious 2014 Leica Oskar Barnack Award for his project Field Trip, a portfolio of photographs taken in Israel. The striking thing about this series is the diversity of the subjects and situations that are all bound by a consistent tension. COOPH caught up with Martin to discuss how his award-winning series came together:
“When I approached this project, I was aware the place was over-photographed and the conflict seemed over-documented in a typical fashion. So I tried to look at it, at least for me, from an unknown angle and decided on two things: Firstly, I would not deal directly with the conventional conflict, and secondly, I would look for an interpretation of the future,” says Martin.
However none of the photographs are staged – Kollar has masterfully captured slightly absurd situations and events to the point where his documentation of everyday events blurs into a fine arts feel: “The idea from beginning was to mix public space with private, corporate or military spaces that are difficult to access. In this series, you never know where you are. Sometimes in the street or a strange environment, with blurred boundaries between the spaces.”
Martin spent roughly a year shooting the award-winning series – rather than starting out with a polished concept in mind, gradually shaped the project through curiosity, research and exploring the subject matter.
Be sure to visit Martin’s website for more captivating photography.
About this project
Field trip is part of a project entitled This Place, which explores the complexity of Israel and west Bank trough the eyes of twelve internationally acclaimed photographers, their highly individual works combining to create not a single, monolithic vision, but rather a diverse and fragmented portrait, alive to all the rifts and paradoxes of this important and much contested place.
