The project began in spring 2016 in Moldova during the university exchange programme "Context for the Specialization in Photography: Excursion to Moldova". In summer 2016, Céline Brunko and Moritz Holenstein went back to Chisinau by land to continue this project and take part in the Public Space Days organized by the Oberliht Association. The project is to some extent shaped by the interaction with Oberliht, an organization which focuses mainly on public spaces and through which we were able to make further contacts. During the Public Space Days, Céline Brunko and Moritz Holenstein had intensive discussions with artists, architects, activists, scientists and journalists from Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Austria and Germany (including the Goethe Institute) and with the "Tranzit" organization. This is a network which has links with various independent political parties in Austria, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic and raises questions of public spaces with them.
As a result of the historically and currently politically unclear situation regarding its alignment with Europe/Romania or with Russia, Moldova finds itself in an ongoing identity crisis. The continuous to-ing and fro-ing of the changing political affiliation of this region is reflected in the built environment of Chisinau.
Through photography, film, text and architects' plans, Céline and Moritz document their findings during the research trip and hope to highlight Chisinau's potential. They are focusing on urban design and architectural aspects. Their plan is to finish the project with a final presentation in Chisinau and a publication.
They also look closely at their position as strangers in a country which, thanks to its history and its past, is bound to be romanticized. How do people view what is different and what fascinates us about the different? A paradox emerges between aesthetic and critical observation.