April 2015 | Abu Dhabi - Originally exhibited at Fotofest in Houston, 2014.
Steve Sabella, who was born in 1975 and grew up in Jerusalem, left the city of his birth in 2007. Not until he was abroad did he become aware of how much he had suffered under the existing conditions in Jerusalem, under the occupation. Outwardly, he now leads a seemingly normal life but he finds himself in mental exile. The “mental exile” followed his “physical exile,” and the feeling of alienation never leaves him. In hindsight, even Jerusalem seems to him like a city in which he was in exile. The series In Exile, exhibited in Abu Dhabi is his first work about Jerusalem. It is made of unsettling photo collages. This series was followed by four others: In Transition; Euphoria; Beyond Euphoria; and Metamorphosis. Together these works illustrate the different phases of Steve Sabella’s attempt to free himself from his trauma and his transformation process. “Metamorphosis,” he says, “is a long process in the reconstruction of the self. It should be done with the core ingredients that have shaped one’s life and perceptions, especially for those who come from conflict zones.”
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