Interview: Alice Zilberberg
Luca Curci talks with Alice Zilberberg, the winner of PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE MONTH – DECEMBER 2021.

Alice Zilberberg is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning artist, recognized by curators, collectors, and art patrons across the globe. Born in the former Soviet Union, she was raised in Israel, then moved to Canada, and now resides in Tel Aviv. A graduate of Ryerson University’s Photography program, she began her artistic practice by painting: a verve that remains very much present in her digital works. The winner of numerous prestigious competitions, her accolades include receiving the Hasselblad Masters award, as well as 1st place titles in competitions such as the International Photography Awards, the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, and the Fine Art Photography Awards. Her work has been displayed in galleries across North America, Europe, and Asia; she has been interviewed and featured in publications and platforms such as MTV, Breakfast Television, CBC, and PHOTO+ Magazine in Korea. For over a decade, Zilberberg developed her own distinctive technique for creating her digital paintings, where photography is only the beginning of the final artwork. The works are comprised of many photographs, and carry a variety of elements such as colour, toning, manipulation, and painting. She often travels across the globe to record different backgrounds and elements for her creations. Works take months to complete, with every detail meticulously inspected for perfection. With a poetic style of expression, the meanings of her images unravel through metaphor and symbolism that aim to inspire the viewer to look inward. For the past five years, her repertoire has explored themes pertaining to the human condition, namely personal identity, emotional intelligence, relationships, and emotionality

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Alice Zilberberg – Anything that an artist makes.

LC – What are you currently working on?
AZ – I’m currently working on expanding my “Meditations” series. It’s a series of animal montages I created to draw attention to well-being, mindfulness, and nature conservation.

LC – What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
AZ – My ideas usually derive from a combination of experiences and things I’ve learned. Lots of ideas are floating around in my head, and at some point, they are combined into something that sparks an inspiration to create.

LC – What is the role the artist plays in society? And contemporary art?
AZ – I think it’s up to the artist to decide if they’d like to play any kind of role.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
AZ – I’m always thinking about all kinds of ideas for creating something new. The inspiration can come from something that I read of my own life experiences.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
AZ – Because there are so many parts that I shoot in different places, it can be challenging to access, and I never know whether something that I have in my head is going to work out or not. It’s a lot of trial and error and can be time-consuming.