"Intimate Strangers": How to imitate a close relationship in the frame

EVERY DAY PHOTOGRAPHERS AROUND THE WORLD looking for new ways to tell stories or to capture what we previously did not notice. We choose interesting photo projects and ask their authors what they wanted to say. This week we are publishing the unfinished series "Intimate Strangers" by Israeli photographer Chemia Moran. Inspired by the film "Buffalo 66" by Vincent Gallo, she decided to check whether she herself can recreate at least the appearance of close relationships with complete strangers.

For me, this project began with the Vincent Gallo film "Buffalo 66" - stories about how a recently released criminal goes to visit his parents, and on the way kidnaps a student to pass her off as his girlfriend. The hero makes the hostage pretend that they are in love and they have a real close relationship. At that moment, when I watched the movie, I was literally seized by the idea of a fake, forceful closeness and did not let go. In Intimate Strangers, I recreated shots and situations from Buffalo 66 and other films to show intimate moments characteristic of different relationships. I used this cinematic proximity structure as a starting point before I dared to photograph myself with strangers.

After thoroughly examining the footage from different films and how their authors recreate the intimacy between the characters, I was set on fire with the idea of testing myself - to find out if I can portray close relationships with strangers. I started "Intimate Strangers" in Jerusalem, continued in Lyon, then in London and everywhere, wherever fate brought me. I choose heroes from both my natural surroundings — I worked in Jerusalem in the cinema, studied at the university in London, and spent a lot of time in pubs — and I find them on the streets. Just come up and ask if you can take a picture with them. Some of the heroes seemed lonely to me, as if they needed my attention; others were so beautiful that I wanted some of their beauty for myself; but still others looked so impregnable that I simply had to get through to them. Over time, I began to shoot characters in their personal spaces. I asked them to look at me, think about me and remember me. I tried my best to make this invisible connection with the heroes.

For example, in photos called "The Beloved Daughter" I used to play the role of my beloved daughter. For a split second, I became a girl surrounded by maternal warmth, or one that admires the femininity of her mother, while they both paint in front of a mirror. In this case, I tried to convey the closeness of the characters through their postures, body movements and, in particular, their legs. My partner in these pictures was the object of study because of her incredibly feminine image.

Or take a shot of "A Stranger in the Park". I met a man in the park and took a picture with him, because I liked the way he was dressed and that his red scarf was coming up to my red shoes. I set the camera on a tripod, set the timer and asked the stranger to put a hand on my shoulder and look at me. Exactly at that moment, as he touched me, and the timer began to count down the time, I sharply wanted to bite my nails.

Photo "Sisters" was born when I was sitting in a cafe and invited the waitress to join me for a dessert. In preparation for the shooting and waiting for my partner, I suddenly remembered this photo of Hannah Starkey. The question of authenticity, intimacy and mastery of my work remains open - the audience must decide here. So, some, looking at the pictures of "Intimate Strangers", are sure that I am posing with my father or lover, while others see the production in the photo.

For me, it has always been a natural process to photograph something or someone. I was born almost completely deaf. Hearing problems greatly influenced my childhood and became an obstacle for communication with peers. On the other hand, I have aggravated all the other feelings, which, I am sure, helped me to deal with my problems. When I was five years old, I had an operation: I began to hear and learn to perceive the world in a new way. I finally could communicate not only through touch, but hear the world and talk to people. That was incredible. Despite the efforts of the parents, who immediately hooked up to the aid of private teachers and gave me piano lessons, I still could not get rid of some childhood habits. Thinking in images rather than words is one of them. For me, the world will always be primarily a picture, and this fact determines my whole life and, of course, work.