underground library

i took these photos a while ago in my primary school in jerusalem. when i was a pupil the school's library was situated in a labirynth-like empty underground bomb shelter. if i close my eyes i can still smell the dump and feel the touch of the always-slightely-wet bean bags in the reading corner. as a child this impossible mixture seemed natural and reasonabe. this might be understood if i think of the shopping mall in my neighbourhood which included a black concrete

and steal memorial to the holocaust. this dark sculpture was the meeting point for all the girl scouts around - climbing and sliding on it while waiting for the activity to begin. i guess this all sounds quite depressing as a childhood landscape but it really did seem natural in the realm of the brutal concrete architecture of the time.