Exhibition:
Zvi Slepon
Upon Thy Walls, O Jerusalem – A Personal Journey

I had always known Old Jerusalem as a symbol and as the heart’s desire of pilgrims making their way to the Eternal City, but I had never studied it systematically enough to understand its depths and reach its roots. I marvelled at its antiquity, but knew nothing of what had happened behind and upon its walls. Only in recent years and from the wisdom of my age, when trying to understand what connects me to its roots and, in fact, to my roots, did I begin to learn it in my own way, and to explore its alleys, observe its stone blocks, and read and delve into the signs and inscriptions that had been carved on its stones thousands of years ago. 

Thus, miraculously, Jerusalem came to life before my eyes and turned me into a constant explorer of its alleys, as if hunting for treasure. With the tools at my disposal, and through my natural language of expression and creation — the camera and its accessories — I began to observe Jerusalem through the photographic lens. I delved deeper and dived into its past with a zoom in and a zoom out; I added to my knowledge through reading and began to put together my personal jigsaw puzzle of the history of the city, which some call the centre of the world. 

The collection of photographs, which gradually accumulated, made me want to share this work with others, and thus the idea of preparing a photo exhibition was born. Presenting the exhibition as part of a Jewish cultural festival seemed to me to be the most appropriate venue. I was born in Poland and, as mentioned, knew little about Jerusalem and its significance for all nations; but when I learned that the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I and the German Emperor Wilhelm II had both visited Jerusalem, in 1869 and 1898 respectively, and established a series of important sites there, my curiosity was piqued to retrace their footsteps and tour their stations in Jerusalem.

My photographs document the city’s walls and gates, stations in the life and death of Jesus, the City of David, the Western Wall tunnels, the visits of Franz Josef I and Wilhelm II, and the Jewish Quarter — accompanied by written annotations. It seems only natural for me to return to Poland and present the exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw — the stations of my own personal journey in Old Jerusalem.

Zvi Slepon


Opening: 24.08.25, 16:00
Untill: 31.08.25
Austriackie Forum Kultury w Warszawie
ul. Próżna 7/9
Admition free