Marrying-In

Lucy Levene

Like many Jewish people, I have always been under pressure from my family to marry someone Jewish. This work is about that assumption. The boys in these photographs are all Jewish, they are photographed in their own living rooms.


Within many less-orthodox families, the reasons for 'marrying-in' are rooted in a desire to preserve cultural traditions and a belief that people from similar cultural backgrounds stand a better chance of a successful marriage. Yet without strong and specific religious beliefs, the basis of this desire to marry 'someone Jewish' is questionable. The process of looking for a partner within the religion becomes a bizarre and pragmatic process.

venue: Hereford College of Art and Design