Capturing Light and Memory in Jewish Storytelling Photography
Photographer Hannah Altman’s new book, We Will Return To You, considers how Jewish storytelling is translated and transformed through photographs by evoking the enigmatic, ritualistic, and multi-layered world of folklore. The 71 color photographs in the book, often portraits, are illuminated by Altman’s distinctive use of natural light. An excerpt from the book forms the foundation for her upcoming exhibition, As It Were, Suspended in Midair, in the Kniznick Gallery at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute at Brandeis University, running February 13–June 12, 2025.
All images © Hannah Altman
“Layering symbols and allusions, Altman builds a world that recasts and transforms
Jewish ritual and folklore toward the world ahead.”
—Olivia Baldwin, curator, Kniznick Gallery, Brandeis University
Altman’s work is rooted in Jewish folklore, using stories, symbols, and rituals to shape the foundations of her images. Her photographs reinterpret objects and traditions from Judaica, placing them in contemporary settings. She bridges the past and the present, creating a visual narrative that expands and carries forward cultural memory.
“Much of Jewish mythology emphasizes a spiraling, cyclical nature of time,” writes Altman. “There is a deep sense of memory that transcends one person’s experiences and becomes living historical content. I love this idea in relation to photographs, because images also bear the weight of being documentation of the past, viewed in the present, to shape the visual landscape of the future.”
The photographs in We Will Return To You include self-portraits and extended community, as well as still lifes of ritual objects and natural elements. Altman’s portraits are multi-faceted and tactile, often set in dense landscapes like homes, forests, and overgrown fields. Her still lifes—a pile of salt, an axe strung on a rope between trees, a mirror submerged in water—are charged with mystery. Together, these images, rich with symbolism, create an ethereal yet grounded world steeped in a sense of timelessness.
Light plays a central role in Altman’s work. She uses direct natural light as an active presence, carving subjects out of shadows and lending a sense of immediacy to each photograph. “I love the idea of having light be very present in the work, almost its own character,” Altman has said. The glow of sunlight across skin and objects creates a sense of warmth and unease, imbuing her images with a haunting beauty.
Text is also a key element in We Will Return To You. Many of the photographs incorporate a visual translation of written storytelling techniques, and the book features a short story tucked between the images. This reflects Jewish storytelling traditions, which rely heavily on both performed and written narratives. Published by Saint Lucy Books, the project explores storytelling as a means to explore Jewish heritage while uncovering fresh perspectives on narrative traditions.
“We will return to you,*
and you will return to us;
our mind is on you
and your mind is on us;
we will not forget you
and you will not forget us—
not in this world
and not in the next world.”
* The title of the book comes from the hadran, a declaration recited upon completing a section of the Talmud, reflecting both the accomplishment of learning and a commitment to repeatedly revisit the text. It symbolizes a deep connection to the ongoing cycle of continuous growth in Jewish tradition.
At 29, Altman has already achieved national and international recognition. Her 2015 series And Everything Nice gained significant media attention for its bold critique of beauty standards. Her first photobook, Kavana (2020), explored Jewish memory and ritual. In 2023, she was an Aperture Portfolio Prize finalist. Her upcoming exhibition at Brandeis University further establishes her as a significant voice in contemporary photography.
We Will Return To You transforms Jewish storytelling into photographs that feel simultaneously ancient and contemporary. Drawing from the richness of Jewish folklore and mystic traditions, they evoke a world that is enigmatic, ritualistic, and layered with complexity. Stretching across generations and lands, they honor a turbulent past by reaching outward toward the future.
We Will Return To You
Texts and Photographs: Hannah Altman
Design Direction: Luminosity Lab, Caleb Cain Marcus
Published by Saint Lucy Books (March 2025)
ISBN 979-8-9899602-1-7
Hardcover
144 Pages, 11 x 8 Inches
(Cover Image: Telling You, 2022)
Hannah Altman is a Jewish-American artist from New Jersey and based in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has been exhibited at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Filter Photo, Technische Sammlungen Dresden, Blue Sky Gallery, Candela Gallery, and the Griffin Museum of Photography, among others.
Her work has appeared in many publications including New York Times, Artforum, Vanity Fair, PHMuseum, Carnegie Museum of Art Storyboard, Lensculture, and British Journal of Photography. She was the inaugural Blanksteen Artist in Residence at the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale in 2022 and an Aperture Portfolio Prize Finalist in 2023. Her first photobook Kavana (2020) was published by Kris Graves Projects and is collected by institutions including the MoMA and Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries.
She is represented by Abakus Projects in Boston.
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