Welcome to Boris’ Express Shoe Repair Shop

• Photographer
  Maya Hed
• Agency / Studio
  Maya Hed Photography
• Photo Date
  December 3rd, 2018

Boris is a jack-of-all-trades by profession: he can duplicate your keys, fix your shoes, and hem your pants on a German sewing machine he brought to Israel when he immigrated. We follow him around his tiny shop as he smokes (a pack a day), drinks his favorite whiskey, and works hard - very hard. Boris represents a generation that added a new layer to the Israeli identity: the 1990s immigration wave from Russia. The photographs were inspired by Boris’ shop, but the project turned into a deeper exploration of this unique character, showing the gentlemanly kindness underneath a tough exterior.

Maya Hed was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to Israel in the late 90s, where she studied at the Kiryat Ono College of Photography. Maya specializes in portraiture, especially series of photographs captured over time. She uses natural lighting to capture genuine, raw emotion, and tell the subject’s story through their portrait. Maya showcased two solo exhibitions at the Israeli Opera and at the Hava Rosenberg gallery. Her work has appeared in print in several magazines and books. Maya also has extensive experience with film, and works as a freelance documentarian based in Tel-Aviv.