A survivor photographed by Borden
Photo: Harry Borden
Portrait of Margaret Thatcher
Photo: Harry Borden
Shoah survivors wanted for documentation project
London-based photographer Harry Borden arriving in Israel as part of international project documenting Holocaust survivors
Harry Borden,
a UK-based photographer whose works are included on the collections of the National Portrait Galleries of Britain
and Australia,
is coming to Israel this week as part of a personal project to document Holocaust survivors in the country.
Borden, 44, is best known for his portraits of celebrities and other influential public figures, including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The NPG now holds more than 100 examples of his work in its photographic collection. He has also worked for major publications such as Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, largely photographing celebrities.
But Borden is currently engaged in a more profound body of work – the documentation of Holocaust survivors, a project that seeks to contribute to the battle against Holocaust denial.
Borden photographing a survivor at her home in Australia (Photo: Joe Lewit)
He explained: "When, as a child my father bluntly explained that I would have been killed by Hitler it naturally had a marked effect on me and I never forgot how unjust it seemed.
"It makes me angry that with time, foolish and sinister people feel able to deny the Holocaust ever happened and with this in mind I decided to make my modest contribution - a series of portraits."
Borden plans to turn the series of portraits into a book interspersed with a recollection from each person in their own handwriting. So far he has photographed 75 individuals in Britain and Australia, and hopes to eventually shoot at least 150.
On Friday, March 27, he will be arriving in Israel for two weeks with the hope of finding survivors who would be willing to be photographed for the project and add their hand-written recollection.
To view Borden's portraits of survivors photographed in the UK, click here
To contact Harry Borden: harry@harryborden.com
