the Abandonment

I was born and live in Chisinau, the capital of a central European country Republic of Moldova, which just over 150 years ago was a small settlement/village.

I spent my entire childhood downtown Chisinau, where there is a concentration and historical congestion of architectural layers not only of the city, but of the country as a whole, whether within the Russian Empire, as an Independent state, as part of Romania, during the USSR, all in some more than a century.

In the recent years, I have observed a revolting and dreadful dynamics of the city's appearance pending the long-awaited State’s Independence. Thus, only 20 years after, the architectural heritage of the past is abandoned and discarded, while the new one did not even begin to shape.

I perceive the destruction of historical buildings and neglection of urban space as a loss of history and identity. In “the Abandonment” series I want to reveal the city’s fading visual pattern, made through my nostalgic feelings and childhood memories. My photographs engage in an untold dialogue with these historical buildings and abandoned places. I want to connect the past of the city and my present, thus through the photographs enabling my reflection on important issues such as: Why should these buildings survive/be preserved? Is it possible to build the future by ignoring the past?