Nissim Men

Nissim Men was born in 1960 in Jaffa, Israel. From 1986 till 1989 he studied photography at the Academy of Art and Design Bezalel in Jerusalem. Since 1989 he lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Nissim’s work consists of what is called ‘staged photography’. The final product is invariably the result of a long search for the right combination of ideas, materials, a lighting concept and camera work. While he used to work with a wide range of props and materials in building his installations, he sometimes included human figures. The lighting constitutes an important step in finishing the set before it is photographed. Gradually the final picture emerges.
The use of the digital photography now enables Nissim Men to build his art in another way. His use of light always attracted attention. How to capture the light is the essence in his working processes. Dealt he once with artificial light in the studio, now he works with natural light.

City’s-Portraits are digital photographic compositions, which envision and explore the cultural layers and history of a city. They create a contemporary portrait of a city’s unique character, by redefining what constitutes a vision of history and a city’s self image. Past, present and future are one vision, encompassing architecture, art, symbols, historic events, cartography and city archives. A multi-dimensional journey is transformed into a two-dimensional image.