Visual artist and writer Efrat Zehavi is known for the plasticine portraits she models on the spot. Her themes are origin, family, and migration. Having moved to Rotterdam from Haifa in 2001, she became fascinated by the facial variations within the 170 different nationalities surrounding her. This led her to develop Passportraits, an ongoing traveling performance.
For Passportraits, Efrat Zehavi makes plasticine portraits of people she encounters in public places like a park or library. She engages them in conversation, and while she gets to know the person opposite her, the portrait takes shape. Passportraits reflect the mix of identities that we encounter on the streets every day.
Efrat Zehavi: ‘Behind each face, there is a life story. I want to find out: where are you from? Who are you? Where are you going?’
