Wearing memory.
A portrait of Moroccan Jewish women
Yzabela Hazan in a tribute to beauty, tradition and heritage.
A photo story from the portrait to the moments behind it.
A story carried
in the details.
Purple cloth falls around the shoulders. Blue beads catch the light. An intricate silver headpiece frames Yzabela’s face against a deeply blue door. The photograph invites us to look slowly: first at the woman, then at the many details that give the portrait its character.
This photoshoot is dedicated to the women of the Moroccan Jewish community. Its subject is the beauty, traditions and heritage of Moroccan Jewry, expressed through the feminine image. The resulting portraits bring that intention into focus through costume, accessories, historical details and the presence of the woman wearing them.
Excerpt from Natalia Sakovsky’s backstage film.
Look closer.
The layered necklaces, patterned fabrics and elaborate headpiece reward a second look. In the wider portrait, a metal teapot and tray enter the composition. Their surfaces echo the ornaments worn against the cloth, while the blue door gives the whole scene a vivid frame.
Naomi Kogan created the costume and accessories for the shoot. Vintstory contributed antiques and historical details. Giving those contributions their names helps us see the photograph as a collaboration: its visual richness comes from choices about what to wear, what to include and how the elements meet within the frame.
These are contemporary portraits dedicated to a particular community. Their invitation is to become curious about that community’s heritage, and to give its clothing and objects the attention their details deserve.
WHAT CLOTHING & JEWELRY PRESERVE
Between
the photographs.
The backstage film opens another view of the project. A courtyard, a change of expression, a camera held up to compose an image: these brief moments let us see something of the work around the finished portrait.
Here, Yzabela appears in a different look, with a red head covering and richly layered adornment. The moving image brings gestures into the story. A hand rises, the face turns, and the stillness of a photograph gives way to the activity of a shoot.
Seen together, the photographs and film offer two ways to encounter the same creative intention. One lets us study a finished composition; the other brings us close to its making. Both keep the women of Moroccan Jewry at the center of the tribute.