The Collecive Man is the intircate story of the Yad Hanna Kibbutz established in 1950 in Israel which became the best known communist kibbutz in Israel. Founded in part by relatives of Gergely, he began working on a visual archive of old photographs, new photographs, staged costumes and mixed media images about the place and the people.
He has collaborated with Katarina Sevic to create costumes based on found images and symbols from the archives.
While working on the photo archive, I became interested in the pictures taken at the Jewish carnival celebrations of Purim. I separately collected all photos that had to do with Purim plays between the 1950s and the 1990s: costumes, props, stage sets, stages and sketches. Purim was also a very important social event in the Yad Hanna community, where, similarly to many other kibbutzim, it was held without its traditionally religious elements. Purim as a celebration, in this form, disappeared by the 90s as the community dissolved and communal spaces lost their function.
Based on my research, The Collective Man, a sketch in seven scenes, tells the story of a community in continuous struggle with sharing and living together. This book attempts to unfold the sketch and the sources it is based on.
Gergely LászlóBy pre-ordering the book you can get a book and print for 130 euro, edition of 50.
To get more info and a very imformative pdf, just write and email to Gergely.
gergely.laszlo@gmail.com
Edition image "Costume for the Monument/The Collective Man, edition of 50 30x30 cm
