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| Born in 1970 in
a suburb of Tel-Aviv to a family of Moroccan and Egyptian origin,
Kobi Israel began his exploration of photography in 1994 when he was
a flight attendant. His camera always with him, he immortalized his
experiences around the world, as can be seen in his early
works. In his own words: “I use the camera as an extension
of my body and senses, like I use my eyes or hands. When I ‘photograph’,
I feel, I explore, I fantasize, I discover, I try to understand...”
In 1996, he studied cinematography at the New York Film Academy.
He then returned to Tel-Aviv for a four year program in Cinematography
& Still Photography at Camera Obscura, the school of visual
arts in Tel-Aviv, graduating in 2001.
In 2002 after a brief stint in Madrid, Kobi settled in London,
where he started working on a series
of photography and mixed-media bodies of work exploring the
multiple layers of human identity and the quest for self-definition.
This project is divided into evolving chapters of experience: physical,
mental and emotional. Each chapter opens a window to the artist’s
realm revealing an aspect of his personal quest for a tangible identity
mingled with an intense desire for self-knowledge and self-acceptance.
In addition, he continues his work with urban
and rural landscapes in his distinctive surrealist style.
Kobi’s work has received worldwide critical acclaim and
recognition from a number of prestigious publications and awards.
Among others, he was granted the “Judges Choice” Award
at the Association of Photographers 2003 Open Exhibition and was
selected as a finalist in the “Schweppes Photographic Portrait
Prize 2003” at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
His works have been widely published in books and magazines and
are included in numerous private and public art collections throughout
the world. |
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Born in Tel-Aviv, Israel
October 3rd 1970
Lives and Works in London
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Professional
Studies |
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| 2001 |
Graduated from the Still Photography and the Cinematography
Departments, "Camera-Obscura" School of Visual
Arts, Tel-Aviv, Israel |
| 1995/6 |
N.Y.F.A -New-York Film
Academy, New-York, Cinematography Course |
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Jobs |
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| 1992 - Present |
On location
Freelance Photographer |
| 2000 - 2001 |
Teaching
visual arts (still photography & digital photography
software) in high schools (11th grade) |
| 1994 - 1999 |
A flight attendant for
the Israeli air line company, "El-Al" |
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Solo
Exhibitions |
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| 2003 |
"VIEWS",
Selected Images from the Book , Blue Elephant Theatre,
London , UK |
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"VIEWS", Selected Images
from the Book @ The BOX , Covent Garden, London, UK |
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"The Metaphysical City"
, Maison Bertaux , Soho, London , UK |
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| 2001 |
"Self-Portrait" , Librairie-Galerie
Les Mots a la Bouche, Paris, France |
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"Partnership", Photogen, Tel-Aviv,
Israel |
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| 1998 |
"Images of Venice" , Photogen
, Tel-Aviv, Israel |
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| 1997 |
"Cities that never Sleep" ,
C C@fe gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel |
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Group
Exhibition |
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| 2004 |
International Photography Award, IPA04,
People: Self-Portrait Category, USA
Second Place |
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Inernational Open Image Award (IOI04),
Waterloo Gallery, London, UK
"Highly Commended"Award |
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| 2003 |
Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize
2003, National Portrait Gallery, London,UK |
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AOP open exhibition , AOP
Gallery, London, UK (link)
"Judges Choice" award for best picture by
Kylie Johnston |
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"Self portrait"
, showcase for the "2003 International Open Image",
Deluxe gallery, Hoxton Sq, London, UK |
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| 2002 |
"Fragments of Life"
, "Descubrimientos PHE02" - PHotoEspana 2002
, International Festival of Photography , Madrid , Spain
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"Self-Portrait"
, First International Saloon of Contemporary Artist
,Lisbon,Portugal |
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| 2001 |
"Self-Portrait"
, Galerie Art 7, Nice, France |
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"Self-Portrait"
, Ramat-Gan Museum of Contemporary Art, Ramat-Gan, Israel |
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| 2000 |
The Millenium Project - "First
Dawn of the 21st Century", Chicago, Illinois |
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| 1999 |
"Dirty Frame of Mind",
Dogit club, Tel-Aviv, Israel |
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| 1998 |
Israel-U.S.A friendship fair,
Bet-Zioney America, Tel-Aviv, Israel |
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First International Saloon
of Photography, Rishon-Lezion, Israel |
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| 1997 |
"Time Out " Magazine,
London, United-Kingdom |
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International
Awards |
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| 2002
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Nikon.co.uk. |
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"Charle's
Bridge" is the winning Image for December 2002
The final Image of the Month competition for 2002
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| 1998
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Practical photography
Magazine (UK) |
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The image "Jamaican
girls" is finalist in the "Practical photography"
portraits annual contest (1998) |
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1997 |
London's
"Time Out" magazin |
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The
photo "Charles bridge" was chosen amongst
the best 12 photos in London's "Time out" Magazine
annual travel photography contest (in conjunction
with channel 4 TV's travel show), and was displayed
in various exhibitions in the UK(1997) . |
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Selected
Publications |
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| Photography books |
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"KOBI ISRAEL VIEWS",
48 Pages, Full color , 2003 Bruno Gmunder Publishing
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| Also participating in |
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"Portraits" , camera craft by
William Cheung, AVA Publishing 2003 (p.18,19,110-111,114) |
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"Professional Photography Photographing
Buildings" by David Wilson ,RotoVision (p. 68,
114, 116) |
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"Better Picture Guide to Portraits"
by David Wilson, RotoVision 2001 (Cover + p 6, 8, 10,
11, 13, 37 , 96) |
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"Dawn of the 21st Century" Published
by Smashing Books, 2001 (Double spread 202-203 , page
312) |
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"Achbar Olam" - travel guides
( Publisher: Modan, Israel) Prague, Greece, Lisbon,
New-York, Rome, Florence etc |
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"Hasifa" (Exposure) - Photography
book |
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| Postcard book |
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"KOBI ISRAEL VIEWS"
, 12 high glossy postcards , 2003 Bruno Gmunder Publishing
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| Selected magazines |
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"Time Out" (London), "Spartacus"
(Germany), "Blue" (Australia), "Manner"(Germany),
"Guide"" (USA), Homens"(Brazil),
"QueenWeekly" (Paris), "Pride"(Israel),
"Odysseus17" 2002/3 (USA), "Freshmen"
(Germany), "Sergio" (Germany) , "Pluma28"
(Portugal), "Practical Photography" (UK),
"Massa Acher" (Israel), "Acbar Olam"(Israel)
etc
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| CD covers |
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Over 30 CD sleeves and booklets for leading record
labels N.M.C music (licensees of Sony music &
EMI) and Hed-Arzi (licensees of WEA & BMG), including
international artist albums and compilations
International artist : Dalaras, Glykeria
(Greece) - concert and album sleeves. Press photos
of international recording artist published in Israeli
and international magazines (including trade magazines
such as "Midem news", France ) |
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| Social campaign |
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The new 2003 GMFA , anti AIDS,
awareness campaign , UK |
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| Cinematography |
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"Boulevards of Broken
Dreams", 10min short film I created was screened
at the" Tel-Aviv cinemateque" and broadcasted
on Israel's channel 2 TV |
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Special
features about my work |
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"Atmosphere"
-"El-Al" in-flight video magazine. The July-August
1998 edition includes a story about my photography work and
me. Featuring 25 of my photos and an interview (bilingual
- English/Hebrew versions) |
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Advocate (USA) - April
2003 issue |
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"Internet and Computers"
- The Israeli internet and computers printed magazine featured
a triple page article about my first solo exhibition "Cities
that Never Sleep " and published photos taken in Havana and
Barcelon |
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"Maariv -
On Line" Israel's daily newspaper - a specail feature
in the internet printed supplement
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