honorable mention
Maya Hed israel
title
Lev: The Endless Tick of the Timekeeper
Zalman connected him to uncle Misha, a horologist, war veteran, and uncle to the town at large. For months, Lev spent every day laboring and learning under Misha, waiting for his approval. Finally, after a year of apprenticeship, Misha gave Lev his blessing.
Lev has fixed more than 182,400 watches. There’s little he loves more than the sound of the first tick of a just-resurrected watch. Lev ran his shop for two years, until he was drafted into the army. During his two years of service, he fixed watches for the top brass in exchange for protection.
After his discharge, Lev went back to running his successful shop. His services were sought out by businessmen, gangsters, and commoners alike.
In 1990, his son decided to join the Zionist enterprise in Israel, Lev was dismayed. He agreed to emigrate, but it hurt him to leave behind the life that he had built. His father, a true Bolshevik, was heartbroken by the decision. Lev still remembers the day he returned his shop keys to the government, the crushing grief that left him in tears.
Lev and his family brought with them several containers. He packed all his watchmaking equipment, but never dreamed he would be able to reclaim his former glory. Lev traded his prestige for anonymity and a minimum-wage job in a grocery store. He fixed watches on the side, saving up his profits until he was able to buy a shop from another Soviet expat.
The new shop has been Lev’s pride and joy for over thirty years, and has drawn clientele from throughout the country.
Maya showcased three solo exhibitions at The Israeli Opera and at The Hava Rosenberg gallery and The Scots Hotel. She also showcased her work in six group exhibitions in Israel, Iran, Budapest, Tokyo, Paris, Basel, and other countries. Her work has won several awards worldwide and has appeared in print in magazines and books. Maya also has extensive experience with film, and works as a freelance documentarian based in Tel-Aviv.
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entry description
Lev Hidekel was born in 1950 in Polotsk, Belarus, then a part of the USSR. As a fifteen-year-old high school dropout, Lev was forced to learn a trade by his father, Zalman Hidekel.Zalman connected him to uncle Misha, a horologist, war veteran, and uncle to the town at large. For months, Lev spent every day laboring and learning under Misha, waiting for his approval. Finally, after a year of apprenticeship, Misha gave Lev his blessing.
Lev has fixed more than 182,400 watches. There’s little he loves more than the sound of the first tick of a just-resurrected watch. Lev ran his shop for two years, until he was drafted into the army. During his two years of service, he fixed watches for the top brass in exchange for protection.
After his discharge, Lev went back to running his successful shop. His services were sought out by businessmen, gangsters, and commoners alike.
In 1990, his son decided to join the Zionist enterprise in Israel, Lev was dismayed. He agreed to emigrate, but it hurt him to leave behind the life that he had built. His father, a true Bolshevik, was heartbroken by the decision. Lev still remembers the day he returned his shop keys to the government, the crushing grief that left him in tears.
Lev and his family brought with them several containers. He packed all his watchmaking equipment, but never dreamed he would be able to reclaim his former glory. Lev traded his prestige for anonymity and a minimum-wage job in a grocery store. He fixed watches on the side, saving up his profits until he was able to buy a shop from another Soviet expat.
The new shop has been Lev’s pride and joy for over thirty years, and has drawn clientele from throughout the country.
about the photographer
Maya Hed was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to Israel in the late 1990s, where she studied at the Kiryat Ono College of Photography. Maya specializes in portraiture, especially series of photographs captured over time. She uses natural lighting to capture genuine, raw emotion and tell the subject’s story through their portrait.Maya showcased three solo exhibitions at The Israeli Opera and at The Hava Rosenberg gallery and The Scots Hotel. She also showcased her work in six group exhibitions in Israel, Iran, Budapest, Tokyo, Paris, Basel, and other countries. Her work has won several awards worldwide and has appeared in print in magazines and books. Maya also has extensive experience with film, and works as a freelance documentarian based in Tel-Aviv.
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