Alexandra Buxbaum’s work has focused on documenting the human experience of various people and cultures living in disparate urban environments around the world.
This photo series “A look at Orthodox Jerusalem” takes a peek into Mea Shearim, which is one of the oldest and most insular neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Fleeting moments of people going about their everyday lives as they live, work, and play.
Mea Shearim is home to the ultra-orthodox Haredi and Hasidic Jewish populations, and once you venture into this close-knit, enclave you are immediately struck by that fact that you are an outsider. You are stepping into a time warp of another realm outside of your normal day to day, one that has changed very little over the centuries. The streets retain the characteristics of an Eastern European shetl, and life is lived strictly in accordance to Jewish law, prayer and the study of religious texts. Gender roles and divisions, dress codes are strictly adhered to. Residents have little contact with the rest of the city, and little interest in doing so either.
“To have entered this ‘other world’ and to have been able to wander around through it has been a privilege. Mea Shearim has deepened my understanding of the Jewish community as a whole, broadened my horizons, and has given me an even deeper appreciation for the wonderful tapestry of this diverse planet we all call home” says Alexandra.
Alexandra has exhibited in over 45 solo and group exhibitions; including the Figge Museum of Art (Davenport, IA) and the US Embassy to Thailand 180th Anniversary Exhibition which was also made into a book titled Everyday Life, the Photo Independent 2017 and Fathom Gallery (Los Angeles, Ca,) Jackson Junge Gallery (Chicago, IL) most recently The Shemer Art Center & Museum (Phoenix, AZ) Cottonwood Center for the Arts (Colorado,) Museum of Art Fort Collins (Colorado,) the Art Center Highland Park (IL,) The Elisabet Ney Museum (Austin, TX, )and The North Dakota Museum of Art. Her photographs are also in numerous private collections.
