Enforced legacy

Finishing a master's degree in photography and one in graphics this year, I'm focusing on analogue imagery, alternative techniques, and how these can be integrated into concepts such as the affective memory of a place. I enjoy incorporating elements from nature, most commonly stone, in an attempt to offer them a new meaning. At the same time, I'm curious about how technology, memory, and nature, or even daily choices, influence our perception of ourselves and the society we live in.

The project started from a story I had heard in my family, where my great-grandmother had to move from Bessarabia to Romania during World War II, losing the family manor and all the beautiful memories from that place. I realized that this uprooting is a common occurrence in Romanian culture. The Enforced Legacy project challenges the diluted boundaries of the memory of a place, focusing on how each space becomes part of our identity. The photographic essay documents and investigates how political and natural influences have impacted family homes, particularly emphasizing how these losses have been felt throughout generations. Whether it's war, deportation, or collectivization, the lost houses no longer exist in these moments, so the images are a reflection of loss, simultaneously commemorating the past and present. The images are part of a larger project, representing the cities of Bucharest, Cluj, and Timișoara.