Where language may falter: Photography and the Jewish diaspora

In Soazig Aaron's novel Refusal (2008), Klara, a photographer, was traumatised by her experiences in Auschwitz but survived the concentration camp due to luck and her resilient use of photography When meeting other photographers in the camp, they shared notes on the photographs they composed in their imaginations, but could not physical/y take. This keen sense of survival and desire to record and narrate the un-recordable has been a defining feature of artists and writers that have sought to document the Jewish Diaspora. For the photographer Shoshanna Jordan, the streets and businesses of East St Kifda have been key sites for the documentation of Melbourne's Jewish community. By photographing people, locales and artifacts of the Jewish Diaspora, Jordan has taken viewers into a realm where language may falter. This photo-essay explores the role of the witness, migration, sanctuary, opportunity and resilience in the ongoing project that is the Jewish Diaspora.