CSAV Chicago, New York by Summer HS winner Shuli Hallak

Shuli Hallak
Currently residing in New York, NY

website: www.shulihallak.com

Work Statement
I've been fascinated both visually and conceptually with Industrial sites since I was very young, especially cargo ships and ports, constantly amazed to think that these are the structures that operate the world on many levels. When I started the Cargo project, initially I gravitated towards the formal qualities of stacked containers. But I quickly turned my attention to the infrastructure of the cargo shipping world, photographing huge ships as they move in and out of ports and the movement of the containers. I realized that as consumers who depend on these goods that come from overseas, we have almost no understanding of how things get here.

Using a 4x5 camera and as well as a medium format camera (for those tricky, hard to access places), I spent almost 2 years photographing at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island. In order to understand fully what it takes to move containers, I joined the M.V. Charles Island, a cargo ship, for almost 2 weeks on a trip from NY through the Panama Canal to Ecuador.

The resulting photographs reveal an almost invisible network of human and technological activity.

For me, it's always about the big picture and trying to understand how things work. Photography is my process of discovery and that expression of fascination with what I find.

Bio
Shuli Hallak, Born in Israel, 1977. Moved to NY in 1981. Started learning photography at the age of 15: how to use a manual camera, load film, process b&w film and darkroom printing. I loved learning the technical aspects of photography and am passionate about photography ever since.

Education
2005 School of Visual Arts, MFA, Photography
1999 Washington University, BA, Philosophy

Exhibitions
2006 Adventura, Moti Hasson Gallery, New York, NY
Cargo, Soho House and KiptonART, New York, NY
2005 Cargo, Gallery Kayafas, Boston, MA
Traffic, Exit Art, New York, NY
See What I Mean?, SVA Thesis Show, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY
Control is Power, W Times Square & KiptonART, New York, NY

Awards
2007 PDN’s 30
Santa Fe Prize Nominee

Publications
2007 PDN, “30 Emerging Photographers to Watch.� March 2007
2006 Emperor of Steel, Fortune Magazine, July 2006
2005 How the World Really Works, Fortune Magazine 75th Anniversary, September 2005
Fortune China, November 2005
American Shipper, April 2005

Museum Auctions:
2006 Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island, NY
2005 DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA