Amit, Golani Brigade, Elyacim, Israel, May 26, 1999 (C)

A young Israeli soldier stands frontally against a plain, pale background, his military uniform and rifle marking his role while his youthful face betrays a quiet vulnerability beneath the surface of duty. Dijkstra's characteristically direct and unflinching portraiture places the viewer in intimate proximity to her subject, stripping away heroic pretense to reveal the individual human being within the institution of military service. The work belongs to her ongoing series documenting Israeli soldiers, exploring the tension between personal identity and collective obligation.