Exhibit opening, screening, & talk

Tuesday August 17, 2010, 7:30 PM

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The images in this exhibit, shot from February - April, 2010, focus on how notions of national identity are playing out in two former USSR states that border one another: Transnistria and Moldova. Transnistria is a de facto, breakaway state with no official recognition. Moldova aims to join the EU and considers Transnistria to be in its domain. 

 

Of capturing people’s daily lives in both areas, Christophe remarks, “There’s something magical about transitory places, where you don’t know if you’re going forward or backward. In Transnistria, western culture is viewed with wariness; one is encouraged to speak Russian, to study in Moscow. There’s nostalgia for a past that never really existed. In contrast, Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, strives to mold itself along the lines of a western country and resists Russian influence.”

 

All photos © Jean Christophe.