Coming-of-age amongst Israel’s beach towns

Director and photographer Dafy Hagai has been busy since we last spoke with her, tripping around Israel for her latest book Sunset. An upcoming printed ode to the ‘cheesy’ aesthetic that shrouds most beach town past their touristic heydays. “I think it's more of a metaphor for something that lost it’s glory, like a lot of the locations I shot in. I became interested in the nostalgia of beach towns in Israel, which I travelled to in different periods of my life,” Hagai explains. “There’s something fascinating about the whole aesthetic of these places to me. From the new luxurious resorts to the history of these touristic towns, the outskirts, and the people who live there.”

Launching at the New York art book fair at MoMA PS1 this weekend, the publication comes complete with everything we love about Hagai’s work – a dreamy exploration of female sexuality and a solid ability to find pastel colours almost anywhere. Keen to take the idea beyond the cliche of bikinis and tanned bodies, Hagai instead explores the nuances of coming-of-age in such places. “I wanted to take a bit of a different look at how female sexuality is usually presented at these kind of places,” she says. “I didn't really want to take photos of girls in bikinis that look like a swimwear shoot. It was more of showing these elements in a subtle way, more following a bunch of girls who live there.”

Sunsets – publishing by Perimeter Books – will launch at New York’s art book fair at MoMA PS1, 18 – 20 September, 2015. Hagai will be signing at the Perimeter Books table from 2pm on Saturday 19 September. To see more of her work, click here