“The Night Illuminates The Night features works that began in 2010 and was completed in 2016. During this period Herman established a dialogue with the great masters of the western tradition who have depicted the Holy Land across the centuries without ever having been there, relying on biblical and literary sources. Herman traces back through this tradition using his own method: nocturnal photography, without electronic aids or digital manipulation, showing only what is visible to the naked eye. Like the great masters of the past, operating in the darkness of the night Herman puts himself in the condition of not being able to see the landscape, even in these places where he was born and raised. The intentional blindness enables the artist to gain access to reality in a new way, through nocturnal photographs and the developing of the film in the darkroom.” — MACRO

Rafael Y. Herman, Bosco lll, 2011, 180 X 270cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Somnum Rubrum, 2012, 180 X 244cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Tempore V, 2012, 180 X 244cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Mare 12, 2012, 180 X 230cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Montem 12, 2012, 180 X 256.5cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Terrarum verticalm, 2013, 270 X 180cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Yarden, 2013, 150 X 300cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Perierat in Viridi, 2013, 180 X 276.4cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman, Felix Taeda II, 2014, 180 X 270cm, Chromogenic print

Rafael Y. Herman was born in 1974 in Be’er Sheva, an ancient city in the Negev Desert in Israel. His recent works address two main themes: metaphysical curiosity and the tale of what lies beyond, and the investigation of light as a physical element and protagonist of space-time.

Exhibition was curated by Giorgia Calò and Stefano Rabolli Pansera. Images courtesy MACRO.