A multi-talended DJ documents an underground Jerusalem dub event.
By BEN JACOBSONdj spins club 88(photo credit: )
Open less than half a year, the downtown Jerusalem miniature bar Uganda takes on many roles: a comics and magazine shop; an indie CD and vinyl music outlet; and a coffee shop. Now Uganda has transformed itself into a miniature art gallery to house the experimental photography exhibit "Happiness of the Poor."
This summer, another miniature downtown Jerusalem bar, Stardust, held a series of outdoor dub music events, and the multidisciplinary local artist Dub.me was there to document the proceedings with his camera. His favorite 26 images from the shoots are the stuff that "Happiness of the Poor" is made of - haphazard-looking, candid-style images of local struggling artists, pub revelers and general passers-by.
Dub.me is known by the government and those close to him as Benjamin Oren, but his other stage names include DJ Dispara (after the Spanish film) and Rothschild's Violin. He is also half of the duo known as Hannah and Hasiba, although he is neither Hannah nor Hasiba. Oren's art usually centers on the turntables, where he spins dub grooves as part of the alternative music collective Miklat Taklitim ("Shelter for Recordings").
Miklat Taklitim is a highly experimental outfit, and all its artists' recordings are available for free download on the organization's website (www.miklataklitim.com). Oren, one of Miklat Taklitim's leaders, also designs all the collective's album covers and promotional items.
This is the third exhibit of photos taken by Oren under the Dub.me moniker. In 2001, his Horrible Pictures also dealt with the local fringe music scene. His 2002 collection, Funk, was displayed at the Musrawa Matnas community center. In addition, Oren's work featured prominently in Intifada Offspring, an acclaimed multimedia project of the German label/publishing house Mille Plateaux.
Uganda is located at 4 Rehov Aristublus, Jerusalem, in a courtyard between Hahavatzelet and Heleni Hamalka streets. "Happiness of the Poor" can be seen there through mid-January.
