PROLAZ (PASSAGE)
This project is about the continuous change experienced in the Balkans over the last years. It’s about the complexity of the human condition during the region’s transition toward democracy. It’s a personal view on the tension and the contradiction occurring here.
I started my journey in 2004 from Istanbul, I decided to start from Turkey, to capture the influence of Turkish ‘Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.
And continue in subsequent years in different cities and surroundings from Albania, Bosnia, Bucharest, Croatia, Hezegovina, Kosovo, Istanbul, Macedonia, Montenegro, Sofia, Serbia, Skopje, Thessaloniki.
I called the project "Prolaz" because I face my visit as a passage to the Turks, the various conflicts of races and lands, the entry into the European Community, or hope to be part of otherpreparations different reasons.
Throughout many centuries, the Balkans have been a melting pot of different cultures, and often a focal point of poisonous hatred and devastating wars. Today, their identity is still rooted in a reminiscence of their difficult past.
This a land of unsure boundaries, where opposites both attract and repel each other. The last decade has violently changed the physical and psychological dimension of these towns, evolving them into a nationalist drama and perhaps the conclusion of an irreversible sense of their own being. Nevertheless, there are vibrant feelings of hope and fear, stemming from the people’s conflicting sense of their cultural heritage.
Fabio Sgroi
