Sunburn explores the relationship between the photographer and his country, Israel, through the narrative of heat. It is a regional story that also aims to raise awareness and questions regarding global warming, our dwindling resources and how the desertification in the region has influenced the global balance. Photographing throughout the country in the months leading up to the 2014 war in Gaza, during the war and in the months after, Tchetchik conveys the often contradictory effects of the Middle Eastern climate on the physical and metaphysical landscape – a sun that warms, nurtures and comforts, burns, strikes and scars. The frames present a reality of uncertainty and disarray, conflict and tension, intertwined with elements which border on fantasy, dreams and theater. The book is comprised of photographs that are literally "sunburned", as some of the negatives were burned in the severe heat. They symbolize a time that has disappeared, yet its esthetics often bear certain similarities to the most advanced digital filters, raising more questions about time and the evolution of imagery.
