My Imaginary Diary : My Imaginary Diary by Niv Hachlili


My Imaginary Travels to Wallland 1.: My Imaginary Travels to Wallland 1. Nine meters down, don't look, you might fall. Don't you look down Niv, It's mighty high. Don't say a word, Finish your food. If you don't, the army will come and Take you away. It's freedom behind those walls. Freedom calls us, As wind does.


Slide3: The sun rises, And clichés have No real meaning. We can laugh there on what has been done. The skyline awaits us on the right side. On what side did you wake up this morning? Latitude is gone now, But poverty is our line. Nine meters high. Don't you fall, you hear?  You might just land.


Imaginary wall 1.: Imaginary wall 1.


Imaginary wall 2.: Imaginary wall 2.


Imaginary man and wall: Imaginary man and wall


Imaginary travels to Blood-land: Imaginary travels to Blood-land We went out in the morning, Not knowing what the night has brought. We did not listen to the news. Drove peacefully to another photoday on the bank. But peace was far away from us. Something is wrong, I thought out loud. The eastern streets were deserted, No one on his way to work.


Slide8: David made a phone call that cleared things up. "We must turn back" he said, "Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was assassinated". I turned the car around and took some Empty Street photos, while driving. David said, "You should get a radio". We drove quietly, tension was in the air. Suddenly, people appeared on the hills. Hundreds of people, walking, calling.


Slide9: "Don't stop to photograph" he said, "Please". I didn't even think of stopping. Stones and rocks, rocks and stones, Ancient weapons still in use. I pressed the gas paddle to its end, Flying us towards the tear gas clouds. "shit" I said, "shit" David said in his mother tongue. "Faster!" he cried and whipped my car As it was a horse race.


Slide10: The checkpoint was close. On it's other side Imaginary quiet-land. The army jeeps came down, Roaring governing, Ruling. Imaginary Blood-land takes its toll. The cries were everywhere, Tear gas, Plastic covered bullets, Grenades, sticks, Rocks, bottles. We kept going, heads down, No tricks, no magic.


Slide11: Let us be safe on the other side. Let us be safe on the other side. We are on the safe side. Take a breath, "Were you afraid?" "I still am" I say. Behind us the clash is on. Now you can keep your head down And steal some stills, Dirty, bloody, painful photos. People pay good money for Middle Eastern pain.


Slide12: * That night my mother said – "Enough is enough, promise me, No more West Bank this week! You must think of us too" I promised her. After all It makes you sick.


Slide13: Niv’s imagination


Imaginary empty street: Imaginary empty street


Imaginary soldier: Imaginary soldier


Imaginary stones: Imaginary stones


Imaginary Private Thoughts: Imaginary Private Thoughts It is sad that things happen, It is sad when they don't. They just leave us here, Waiting. The smell of fear around us. And I can feel myself pity the ones, Who are and will be hurt.


Slide18: Like I'm not a part of it, This existing reality. I only have my own, Imaginary world left, Now, knowing now. Watching with compassion, As the wrestle goes on. Who will be on his knees next? Who will cry tonight? Who will curse the world with pain?


Slide19: They have decided, Devouring us all. Giving us death, Wrapped as a necessity. Instead of admitting, They diminish life. They despise life. They thrive on our blood. As if they have shares. In death's stock market.


Slide20: Imaginary exploded bus at the wall


Imaginary Music part2: The imaginary traveler goes to photograph A special musical show in Al-Hakawati theatre In east Jerusalem. Night before the Israeli- Palestinian land day, The place is full, packed with young people. The show is Beautiful, The band plays amazing. Imaginary Music part2


Slide22: Even though it's not he's language, The imaginary traveler is touched. At the end of the show the crowd goes wild, Sings together, Words he can't understand float in the air. On stage, Ten Palestinian players and one Jew, Their music takes the traveler Far away, Makes him drift to dream world, Forget where he is at. When the show is over, he walks the Empty streets, enjoying the warm weather night,


Slide23: Talking to he's companions. A police car appears from the dark, Stops right next to them, "What are you doing here ?“ The imaginary traveler is being asked. "Walking" he answers peacefully. "What are you doing here?“ Repeats the border police soldier, "Walking" insists the traveler. "This is not legitimate." Cries the soldier, The imaginary traveler is surprised,


Slide24: He's imaginary tour book doesn't say such a thing. "Not legitimate?" he asks angrily, "Not legitimate to travel peacefully, Minding my own business, in the street?“ "Not in these streets" answers the young soldier. "Really? And what streets are those?“ Wonders while raising he's voice, The long time, tired, traveler. "He didn't mean it like that…" hurries The older cop in the car, to explain, "He meant it's not ordinary…".


Slide25: "Oh, if that's what you mean, then good night“ Say's the traveler and walks away. "We don't need to worry about you ?", Calls, asks the older cop. "No, no need to worry at all" .


Imaginary singer: Imaginary singer


Imagining singer: Imagining singer


Imagining the kanoon: Imagining the kanoon


The crowd goes wild: The crowd goes wild


Imaginary Travels to South Hebron Hills1: Imaginary Travels to South Hebron Hills1 I have so much I want to say about my Imaginary Travels to The south Hebron hills, but I Just can't find my words To describe this terrible beautiful anguished place. I can only pick up fractures of reality I've been a part of. It's a beginning of a long journey. ** Yusuf can't speak my language and I can't speak his, But he insists explaining everything to me


Slide31: As we run from one hill to another, From a dark cave to a darker one, Wakes up the sleeping ones, gathers families, Insisting I'll see them all, And I understand there are big issues at stake. The kids see me and burst into tears, "Settlers !" they call and can't calm down, "I'm a friend" I explain in their language But they are stroked with fear, Running to hide behind their mothers. Every cave I go into, the kids panic. We hurry to leave and carry on, To disturb the next family at it's turn.


Slide32: ** Billal says to me, "Maybe I can't read and write, but I know how to plant and to plough, to grow, to harvest, To build my house, and feed my kids. How to slaughter a sheep, how to make good Bread. How to live my land without hurting or killing it. So what does it help if People on the settlement, Above us, learned all those fancy things I didn't? All they want is to drive us away from here by violence. I don't need to be educated to know this is wrong. My home has always been here, Just like yours, we have no where else to go.“


Slide33: ** 15 minutes of walk, Down the hill, Stands the imaginary deserted Army base. Two weeks ago the villagers woke up, To discover it vanished into air, Like it has never ever been there. I walk down to see what is left, Meeting old acquaintances of mine, Brown training targets forgotten behind, Stuck on barbed wires, Cardboard soldiers aiming their Cardboard guns at me,


Slide34: Scary souvenirs in this primeval land Of strong winds and hazy brand.


Imaginary old friend: Imaginary old friend


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Susia: Susia


Yusuf: Yusuf


Imaginary Sailing in South Hebron: Imaginary Sailing in South Hebron We sit at the headmaster's room In the elementary school of tuwana, South Hebron, Every sentence contains words like Wall, settlers, Fence, Borders, Gates, violence, It's crawling sneaking down to the Wild wild south, Cutting, chopping, disintegrating. I leave the grownups talk


Slide42: And run out to play with the kids. To feel the holiday sun on my face, To drive away those worries Those fears. Now we are all brave pirates On a red flagged ship, We fight the imaginary waves, Scream with joy, Getting wet by the fantastic water, It's a warm day. The kids carry me along the hills with them Sailing on a cloud of dreams And childhood bliss is in the air.


Imaginary sailing: Imaginary sailing


Imaginary sailing: Imaginary sailing


Imaginary sailing: Imaginary sailing


Sailing: Sailing


Sailing: Sailing


Sailing: Sailing


Sailing: Sailing


Sailing: Sailing


Imaginary Families of the World: Imaginary Families of the World While I was looking at the pictures I took Of the family who hosted us in The village of twuana A close, familiar, warm feeling Sneaked into the heart. I knew I've seen those photos before, They have been hiding somewhere In the back of my mind. It was my father's pictures of us,


Slide52: The kids, Many years ago. We stood, sat, stared, Looked at the camera, Just the same, In this beautiful naïve way kids look At life. Those pictures are family pictures. All families, all over. That's what the kid from my Dad's photos Insists on telling me. And I whish (So hard) he would be right.


Family photos: Family photos


Family photos: Family photos


Family photos: Family photos


Family photos: Family photos


Family photos: Family photos


Family photos: Family photos


Imaginary Travels into the Wind: Imaginary Travels into the Wind It's too early in the morning Philip leads the way with his foreign car I drive slowly behind him, We pass by the soldiers, Ashraf keeps filming, They look at us, "Don't stop" I say to him, "Don't you stop either" he answers back. The soldier's signal - keep going.


Slide60: Philip maneuvers on the dirt roads I make an effort not to stay too far behind And my old car complains, She has a hard time carrying us to all Those neglected places. On top of the hill the view Is breath taking, The wind breaks our words And I feel I can stay here for ever, Under us, the security fence is cutting The valley, Philip says, "They have rooted out olive trees,


Slide61: 2000 years old.“ And now we are rooting out people. ** On the way back we stop in the village And I have a chance to photograph The kids playing, One of the neighbors comes out and says to me "Look at the kids, how much love in them, You have taken almost everything from us, So all we have left to give to our kids is love, All The love in the world and more, Know that, Remember that,


Slide62: Every time a kid is being killed A part of all love dies with him On your side and on ours, We loose love bit by bit."


Kidslove: Kidslove


Kidslove: Kidslove


Snakefence: Snakefence


Imaginary Travels into the Fields : Imaginary Travels into the Fields We blow the balloons together, The girls like the yellow ones, The boys like the blue, The internationals brought them, I brought small plastic animals, But none of the kids is interested, In my present, Everybody wants balloons, And they all get one,


Slide67: Later we can watch them fly into The cloudy skies, And accompany them with our calls of joy. ** No poems about the settlers That burnet down Last night All of the wheat That was harvested In the fields Of Twanah, No poems.


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Jimba kids: Jimba kids


Imaginary Free Falling : Imaginary Free Falling I see the kid fall and start running Somebody calls from behind "Stay back ! they are shooting, stay back !“ I almost reach the kid When I feel a sudden pain in my shoulder That throws me to the ground My camera hits the rocks My glasses fly away My hands move blindly


Slide73: Searching for an eyesight White smoke covers me from above I curse and bundle up The pain gets stronger One of them aimed for me One of us, me, mine, did it My fingers touch the rubber covered bullet Laying next to me I crawl behind a rock and wait For it all to be over. ** Since the imaginary traveler has Started his journey


Slide74: The nights has changed for him He does not find comfort in the sleep When he closes his eyes all he sees Are seas of struggles Hundreds of people walk through his imagination And others are trying to stop them By beating and kicking Streams of sweat curve their way to his pillow Trying to penetrate the concrete walls of his dreams New rules and laws are established At night Sleeping with eyes half open Jumping at any little noise


Slide75: Keeping the light on Closing all the windows Locking all the doors Checking that's nothing has changed Every two or three hours The imaginary traveler is tired And frightened And desperate They have done a good job on him.


Imaginary grabbing: Imaginary grabbing


Imaginary waiting: Imaginary waiting


Imagination too close: Imagination too close


Imaginary travels into violence: Imaginary travels into violence What words can describe the violence That has taken over our life here ? I meet Yaron and Tali, and Tali says "It's so strange that people like us, Who are against any kind of violence, Experience the highest levels of it almost daily.“   ** Jonathan says "Slow down, Those guys are crazy, they will


Slide80: Shoot us without thinking.“ I stop the car and look at the Security guards that are aiming their Weapons at us, I open the window and Wave my hand, screaming "Journalists", I drive very slowly on the dirt road, The bulldozers are creating huge dust clouds.   ** An imaginary manual for the Imaginary street protestor – # Try to stay in the narrow alleys, They can't chase you with the horses, And it's harder to shoot you down.


Slide81: # For the same reason, stay away from Open fields (they will catch you or shoot You in no time) # Try to keep a safe distance from the Foreign press people, they want to be where The action is, and they are easy to spot with Their helmets and bullet proof vests. The soldiers won't aim at them, but they will Shoot anybody that is around and Not wearing a big helmet that says "TV" or "Press" on it. # Always watch the roof tops, for two reasons, The first one is the snipers,


Slide82: The second one is the roof kids, They will signal you where the soldiers are. # If somebody pushes you, fall. He probably has a good reason for doing that, Like, trying to save your life. # And when you are on the ground, protect your head The horses might be coming. # if there is no laundry outside, know, this is A tear gas disaster area. # When you hear the whistles don’t hesitate, Duck, the bullets are here. # If it's the boarder police, god help you.


Slide83: ** The bullet passes five centimeters from Jonathan's face and I'm pulling him back. "He was aiming for me" he shouts in disbelief And I bent behind the garden wall and take A deep breath, "Let's move" I say, "The soldiers will be coming down and we will Be caught in the middle.“ "I was so close to getting my head blown off“ Jonathan replies in surprise.   ** I can hear my heart beat, We run in the alleys, watching


Slide84: The roofs, the kids direct us to The action, Boarder police soldiers closed on two kids, I get close and the commander Screams "don't beat them, the media is here.“   ** The guy is lying on the ground, I think he's dead, but Terry says that He moved. The medics carry him on their hands. His family is coming out of the house yelling And crying, the women try to hit the soldiers, The soldiers use their sticks,


Slide85: I photograph and get a stick in my face.   ** Imaginary Travels into Violence And on the weekend, south Hebron hills, the harvest is on. Violence for breakfast and for launch, Fear grows in the fields, Kills all crops, all hopes.   ** A small riddle for the imaginary audience – Will an attacking settler be arrested on a Friday? (Or on any other given day, for that reason…) ** Can the last person turn off the light please?


Caught: Caught


Caught: Caught


Chasing: Chasing


Chasing: Chasing


Here we go again: Here we go again


Here we go again: Here we go again


Press: Press


Shooting: Shooting


Here we go again: Here we go again


They shot my brother: They shot my brother


You shot my brother: You shot my brother


Imaginary Travels into Silence : Imaginary Travels into Silence Musa is calling from the top of the hill, "Niv ! they are coming at you, run away!“ I start running, the ground is slippery and I twist my leg and fall. Musa is hurrying my way, "Get up, please“ He screams with fear, It's just the two of us, And musa is not even ten,


Slide98: But he's ten times smarter then me, I pick myself up and check my mobile, There is no reception. ** They look big, Guns are hanging from their shoulders, They don't seem to be in a hurry, Knowing they control the hills. I tell musa to run to his family tent, But he insists on staying with me, "I very strong“ He says in Hebrew and holds my arm, "I don't leave you",


Slide99: I hide the camera in my back pack, No need for another one to be smashed. ** I don't know where the others are, We are too far away from the tents, Now I have to stand and look them In the eyes, Not to show them I'm terrified. Musa smiles at me, His smile means "What can they do?“ But I know what they are capable of, And so does Musa. The harvest day is over.


Harvesting: Harvesting


Harvesting: Harvesting


Harvesting: Harvesting


Harvesting: Harvesting


The kids: The kids


The kids: The kids


The kids: The kids


The kids: The kids


The kids: The kids


An Imaginary Meeting with Past Life me : An Imaginary Meeting with Past Life me "I used to be you“ I say to the young soldier that stands In front of my face. They don't allow the car to move, We get out and start walking, "I'm talking to you !“ Spits the soldier, "I've fucking told you this is A closed army area !"


Slide110: "Do you have a warrant to show us ?“ "I don't need to show you anything, I just told you.“ We keep on walking. One of the soldiers jumps and tries to Physically stop us, Hands fly in the air and feasts are Being raised, "No fighting" I say While he pushes, "Understand, you can't stop us, We are going to the field to harvest.“ He looks at me,


Slide111: He's face almost touch mine "I used to be you“ I tell him again and nod my head, He takes a step back and lets us through.


Fighting: Fighting


Fighting: Fighting


Jeep: Jeep


Soldiers: Soldiers


Imaginary Albums : Imaginary Albums Tomorrow night I will exhibit two albums In "Haara" art event that takes place At Nahlaot neighborhood, Jerusalem. One album is a journey into the past Through the present, the second is My journeys with the future generation, Both Albums are linked by childhood Hopes and shattered dreams. **


Slide117: While I write, the counter is on. 11 soldiers and 15 Palestinians Have died in Gaza in the last 24 hours, A new start ? A never ending story. ** Two years ago, on a Friday afternoon A suicide bomber exploded in the Jerusalem Market, Danya and I were there. After we got home, I became very sick And tried to drive away The smell of burning flesh, the bloody Sights, with a long shower and sleep.


Slide118: After I finally fell asleep, I had a dream, I was in my Elementary school, I was running the empty corridors, Trying to get out, Wanting to hide under the old white Strawberry tree in the yard, Sounds of explosions were everywhere And when I finally found my way to the tree, And climbed on him, I reached my hand to the strawberries But they were all filled with worms. **


Slide119: This dream keeps on repeating, Coming back to visit me, It changes itself from time to time, But the running through the maze Of the school corridors and the upcoming Disappointment is always there. ** This Passover holiday I decided to go On a double journey, And that’s how the albums were created. One journey I shared with you, taking Over 150 portraits of kids, Israelis and Palestinians, I tried to gather their whishes and thoughts,


Slide120: To collect them into a one messy chaotic big Shared experience. The second journey was into my childhood Memories that became nightmares. ** My elementary school was in an old Building that was build in 1899, Today it stands deserted like a big White whale in the middle of the city, Behind the bubbling market, The gates are locked and fences have been Placed around it, Dead zone. ** Until Passover, I didn’t visit him in


Slide121: More then 15 years, except in my dreams, So I decided it's time to go. ** Someone told me the strawberry tree was Chopped down, Another said the school inhabits Drug addicts and it's a dangerous place. Third thought it's a waste of time "Chasing the past" and suggested I would "Get a life". ** The first thing I checked when I got into The other side of the fence was the tree. He was there, big as I remembered him,


Slide122: Blooming and healthy, breaking the Asphalt around him, surviving. ** I found a way into the building And the second I got in I met Vadim. Later I got to meet Gregory, And Dimitri, and bosh And others with no names. All alcoholics, some drug addicts, Many lost without hope.  We reached an agreement, I am welcomed to stay


Slide123: As long as I don't take photos Of them. ** I spent three days strolling the building, Took more then 500 photos, Inside and out, All of that time the strange feeling Of taking part in my own weird dream Didn't leave me. ** Rooms filled with excrement, Mountains of garbage all over, Stench of urine and sweat, Broken windows,


Slide124: Frozen nights, Terrified sad people. ** Sometimes Vadim walks with me Like a shadow, "And what was that class for ?“ He asks again "This was carpenters class.“ "Really ? No way !“ He laughs and looks at the Green painted walls. ** At the third day I'm there one of the "Locals“ Falls asleep with a cigarette and almost


Slide125: Burns himself to death. ** Vadim and I sit on the strawberry tree Before I leave, It has fruit although it's not the season yet. There are no worms. I ask Vadim, "Will I find you here if I'll come to visit?“ And he answers, "You might, but I can't promise I'll Remember you, where we are, Or even who the hell I am."


Vadim can’t remember: Vadim can’t remember


Class: Class


Corridor: Corridor


Drying: Drying


Outside: Outside


School: School


School yard: School yard


Shoes: Shoes


Smile: Smile