Laura Pannack’s new project is a bold documentation of a young Hasidic man ‘Baruch’ stepping away from the stricter bounds of his faith.
The project explores how we choose our paths in life and questions how much control we have to change who we will become. At the age of 16 Baruch chose to leave his Orthodox Jewish community and to study at university. The dramatic and challenging decision forced him to question his identity and future
Einstein says: “The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. “
The photographer has spent the past year coming to know Baruch and documenting his exploration of how to be Jewish alone: studying, learning, and becoming independent. The project — simply titled Baruch, after its protagonist— saw Pannack researching and developing ideas over the course of a year. She made four separate trips to Israel, travelling the length of the country, following leads, and making connections.“I wanted to explore connections, and in some way focus on individuals who were changing their lives to connect with others” Pannack explains.
The award-winning British photographer is known for her exacting sensitivity in portraying character and emotionality, as well as for her talent in gaining documentary access to otherwise fairly private communities.
