Uncertain Tranquility (work in progress 2023 - )
Smaller cultures, when positioned near larger ones, must constantly showcase and maintain their distinctive traits to prevent being overshadowed by more dominant cultural narratives. However, border territories are not easily defined physical spaces. They are closely connected to local cultural self-awareness and self-identification, which is the collective sense of self among certain social groups. The conceptual framework of this series of works aligns with ideas from border anthropology, which see border territories as complex social hybrid spaces rather than mere geographical locations. Essentially, border territories resemble liminal zones, whose identities are continuously evolving and where cultural practices are in a constant state of flux. Visual anthropology emphasises the paradoxical nature of border territories: they embody the ambiguous existence of intermediate states between alienation and presence. In everyday practices, this ambiguity and uncertainty emerge through transformations in daily rituals and visual environments. Social groups in border territories develop specific strategies and tactics to adapt flexibly to different cultural systems, forming hybrid identities that reflect both themselves and their surroundings. These constructed identities remix traditional categories to support new and unprecedented cultural hybrid states.
Border territories, where multiple cultures interact and exchange their narratives, are often more difficult to inhabit and burdened with various economic and social challenges. These regions frequently experience economic instability, risks of unemployment and poverty, as well as depopulation. These factors create a visually chaotic yet seemingly stable environment, yet this chaotic calm also shows signs of intercultural clashes that are inevitably present. In borderscapes, where power relations, economic flows, and cultural narratives intertwine in complex ways, architecture and landscape carry diverse historical and contemporary stories, revealing tension between dominant and marginalised messages.
The project seeks to explore the European Union's eastern border territories through photography, with a specific focus on architecture and landscape, where various visual signs indicate instability and unrest. This approach aims to visually deconstruct the border space as a palimpsest – a multilayered text where traces of different eras and cultures overlap and interact. The project employs techniques derived from both documentary and conceptual photography. Its main goal is to examine representations of social structures in the landscape and cultural hybrid states within the environment. Consequently, the project is closely connected to insights from border and visual anthropology, art as research, and the language of the photographic medium
