Place project: the reception hall at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel by Uri Zilberman
In the process of the project the focusing change from people to balloons. We noticed that the balloons actually talk instead of the people. Just like the body speaks for us. Just as the echoes of a headache, for example, are the words that are stuck in our head, the words that we are afraid to say - so the balloons also speak to us about our feelings. For example, that young man who holds a red heart balloon and indicates with an embossment that he is waiting for a beloved girlfriend or the grandfather who holds a balloon in the shape of a bear. It is not difficult to understand that he is waiting for a grandson or granddaughter. Or that group of young people who are holding a bunch of balloons designed in the shape of a flower and are probably waiting for older relatives. And let's not forget the street artists who specialized in designing different shapes for balloons. What does it mean? The shape is a language. Each balloon is a word, sentence, saying and even a whole story. No wonder I encountered in the reception hall those who held balloons for a long time and did not let go. If they slack off a little, the words will disappear out of the
Sharing the project I spent long hours at the airport. And I was amazed to see the amount of balloons there. That is, they also have a cultural-local aspect. In the old days, people welcomed those who came only themselves. No balloons, or flowers. Then there were the placards with the inscriptions of "Welcome back" and then moved to flowers. Now is probably the time of the balloons. It is enough to look at the ceiling of the reception hall. There are no end balloons stuck there. A carpet of balloons. There are special people who take down the balloons from the ceiling once a week. It’s, update their quantity and popularity. In other words, I have no choice but to concentrate on the balloons. I understood that they are the most accurate for the story of the meeting and with all the strengths and subtleties. If so, the more accurate name of the project is: balloons instead of people or the balloons that talk.
Furthermore, I noticed that the balloons tell the whole story. it even occurred to me that the balloons tell us the story of the meeting before the meeting, while waiting, even before the meeting. As the camera captures the moment, so the balloons are constantly holding emotions. They are the emotions themselves.