Ben Apfelbaum

SIDNEY NOLAN EXHIBITION : SHAKEN TO THE CORE @ SYDNEY JEWISH MUSEUM

 

Commissioned to sketch the proceedings in the Eichmann trial at the end of 1961, Sidney Nolan was spurred on to visit Auschwitz in January 1962. Shocked by the mountains of hair, spectacles, children’s toys and other personal and poignant articles, he felt that he had to document the strong feelings Auschwitz had exploded within him.

Nolan felt that he had to document his impressions and these works, as well as the Eichmann sketches, were on display in a powerful exhibition impressively demonstrating some of the darkest aspects of the Shoah and its aftermath.

The exhibition, SHAKEN TO THE CORE : THE UNTOLD STORY OF NOLAN’S AUSCHWITZ, which showcased 50 works by Sidney Nolan, was on display at the Sydney Jewish Museum between July 21 and 23 October 2022

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.