enRoute Can you tell me about your background as a photographer? When did you get into photography?
Yuli Gorodinsky I was 24 years old and going through a serious breakup when I bought my first camera. I felt stuck, and I used photography as a tool to reconnect with the world. Then I went to film school but dropped out to travel to India. I figured I would use that time to rest and think about the meaning of life, but instead I ended up photographing everything obsessively. When I came back, I taught myself about photography and art. I spent hours in front of the computer studying the history of photography and going to galleries and museums.
er You immigrated to Israel from Russia as a child. What main contrasts have you noticed between both countries?
YG It’s difficult to compare the two. Israel is smaller than the city where I grew up. There’s a feeling of great vastness in Russia; you can drive for days without ever seeing the end of the road. Israel, on the other hand, can be crossed in six hours. Here I feel like a tourist who never really quite belonged.