An Important Lesson 

Many have heard about the boat on HaBonim Beach. Visitors often come to the secret beach to see it. The rusty boat is right on the beach, so our task of photographing it should have been quite simple technically. However, this little boat gave us a hard time and taught us an important lesson: sometimes you just have to accept reality as it is. 

In the middle of a cold winter night, we followed a trail that we believed would lead us closer to the boat. We didn't realize how treacherous the muddy trail would be in the dark. Our car soon got stuck deep in the mud and would not budge. We had no idea what our exact location was, and we certainly had no way of getting out of the predicament we found ourselves in. We decided to grab our heavy equipment and head for the boat on foot, hoping it would not start raining on us. After a short and tiring walk we reached our destination. We set up the camera and all that remained was to take photos – to illuminate the boat with flashlights for about twenty minutes from a close distance, while constantly moving to make sure we did not appear in the frame. The task became even more challenging when we realized that we were at the height of the tide. The boat, which had been easily accessible during the day, was now a swimming distance away inside the icy water. Exhausted but determined, we swam towards the boat, examining its rusty body from up close. It was a strange experience, to be inside a completely rusted boat in the middle of the night, as if we were searching for something we had lost. When we were done, we quickly returned to the beach, packed up our gear, and were thrilled that we were able to get a single frame. The next day we went to the darkroom at HaMidrasha School of Art to develop that single frame. We waited anxiously only to discover that the negative was completely blank – complete and utter darkness. Somewhere along the way, we made an error. 

At that moment we knew we had to return to the boat, and so we did. It is hard to admit, but we failed again. And again. The boat became the object we tried to photograph the most times in the entire project. Finally, I believe it was in August, we succeeded. 

Now, you may ask, why is the photo titled Boat and Car? The sharp-eyed observer will notice that at the back of the boat there is a car-like silhouette surrounded with blue markings. That silhouette is indeed a car that we photographed on a different location, completely by accident, on the same negative we shot the last frame of Boat. At this point we decided to accept the boat as it is – Boat and Car. 

 

Nati Hoki 

Nati Hoki (b. 1993) collaborates with his artistic partner Tom Ariel (b. 1990). Both draw strength and autonomy from their encounters. Each interaction with the environment serves as a juncture of artistic possibilities that they explore together. 

 

Illuminates Its Surroundings 

At first glance, the image seems to be rather gloomy: it was taken in the dark and centers on a shipwreck. But when you pass it every day and observe it closely, you discover that this impression is incorrect. The ship illuminates its surroundings with a light that reminds me of hope in days of uncertainty. This ship from the past is sailing forward, into the future that seems dark – but only because it has not yet been illuminated for us and we do not know what it will bring. The boat carries the light with it – I see it as an allegory of courage and optimism. It does not matter what the future has in store; we will carry our light with us to illuminate it. Both to see, and to add a light of our own. 

 

Katya Assaf-Zakharov 

Dr. Katya Assaf-Zakharov is a senior lecturer in the Law Faculty and the European Forum of the Hebrew University. She earned her Ph.D. from the Ludwig- Maximilian University of Munich as a fellow of the Max Planck Institute for Competition and Innovation. She has written on a variety of legal subjects, including advertising, trademarks, patents, freedom of expression, media regulation, defamation, and affirmative action. Her writings critically analyze consumer culture, brand fetishism, and capitalist ideology. They always combine legal analysis with insights from other disciplines. Recently, Dr. Assaf-Zakharov’s research has shifted focus to urban public space, where she is seeks to unearth the narratives embedded in our shared visual environment and criticize their legal regulation.