Exhibition: Rob Hornstra & Arnold van Bruggen – The Sochi Project

Opening: 24.10.2017 ore 19
Talk: 24.10.2017 ore 20
Rob Hornstra sarà presente.
Exhibition: 25.10. – 2.12.2017

Kuabchara, ABKHAZIA, 2009 – Brothers Zashrikwa (17) and Edrese (14) pose proudly with a Kalashnikov on the sofa in their aunt and uncle’s house. They live in the Kodori Valley, a remote mountainous region on the border between Abkhazia and Georgia. In August 2008, Abkhazia gained control of the officially demilitarised Kodori Valley. The valley’s 2,000 Georgian inhabitants fled over the border. A few families refused to be driven out: ‘We are mountain people. Borders don’t mean very much to us. But if I had to choose between a Georgian and an Abkhazian passport, I would choose a Georgian one.’
© Rob Hornstra / Flatland Gallery

The Sochi Project: un atlante su guerra e turismo nel Caucaso

Dal 2009 il fotografo Rob Hornstra e il giornalista Arnold van Bruggen lavorano insieme per esplorare e documentare la situazione all’interno dell’instabile regione intorno alla città di Sochi, in Russia. Nel corso di 5 anni e 11 visite, Hornstra e Van Bruggen hanno praticato una precisa forma di slow journalism, con l’obiettivo di comprendere in profondità la complessità dell’area e le sensibili modificazioni avvenute durante la preparazione dei giochi olimpici invernali del 2014. Resort subtropicale sul Mar Nero durante l’era dei Soviet, nel cuore delle regioni caucasiche lontane dalla allora capitale Mosca, Sochi si trova oggi in prossimità dell’Abcasia, zona di guerra dell’ex-Urss, e delle povere e instabili repubbliche del nord del Caucaso: un luogo di pieno di contraddizioni, dove convivono il turismo balneare e il terrorismo, la corruzione, la povertà. Non sorprende dunque che Hornstra e van Bruggen abbiano incontrato sul loro cammino accessi negati e forze di polizia schierate, fino al conclusivo impedimento di proseguire le ricerche prima dell’ultimo ingresso in Russia.

Sukhum, ABKHAZIA, 2010 – The Sukhum Primate Center in Abkhazia is the oldest primate research laboratory in the world. Founded in the 1920s, the institute now strives for relevance amid Abkhazia’s struggle for independence from Georgia, dwindling funds, and the loss of a large portion of its animals to a modern lab in neighboring Russia. © Rob Hornstra / Flatland Gallery

Attraverso fotografie, testi, video, e libri, Hornstra e van Bruggen raccontano la storia di Sochi e del Caucaso, soffermandosi su vicende personali evocative rispetto alla vita pubblica. Così come il volume dedicato al progetto, e recante lo stesso titolo: The Sochi Project: un Atlante su guerra e turismo nel Caucaso, il reportage mette in discussione la storia della Russia per cercare di rintracciare un’identità post-sovietica.
Per fare questo, Hornstra e van Bruggen mostrano quali siano le implicazioni locali legate alla politica internazionale e all’economia globale.

Eshera, ABKHAZIA, 2010 – The second time we visit Mikhail Yefremovich Zetunyan (88) in his house with a magnificent view of the Black Sea. Despite the subtropical climate and stunning location most of the houses in Eshera are empty. During the war with Georgia in 1993, all the ethnic Georgians were driven out. Young village residents were killed in the fighting. Only a quarter of the village’s population remains. There are simply not enough people to keep the village going, leaving everything to fall into further disrepair. Mikhail Yefremovich doesn’t care. He feels his time has come and is busy making his own coffin.
© Rob Hornstra/INSTITUTE

La mostra presente al foto.forum è uno sguardo sull’Abcasia, una delle tre regioni esplorate per il progetto Sochi.

Tkuarchal, ABKHAZIA, 2010 – Tribute to victims of war in the cultural palace in Kuarchal. During the War in Abkhazia (1992-3), Tkuarchal withheld, through Russian humanitarian and military aid, an uneasy siege by the Georgian forces. Since 1995 it is the centre of the newly-formed Tkvarcheli district.The town’s population was 21,744 in 1989. The three main ethnic groups were Abkhaz (42.3%), Russians (24.5%) and Georgians (23.4%). As a result of the War in Abkhazia the town’s industries all but stopped and its population decreased greatly and according to the 2003 census data its population was 4,786. © Rob Hornstra / Flatland Gallery

Rob Hornstra, The Sochi Project, Opening and talk at foto forum Bozen/Bolzano, 24.10.2017, photo: Claudia Corrent, foto forum