The historical and geographical territory of ‘Dobrogea’ is best known for its tourist attractions: 'Delta Dunāƒrii' (Danube Delta), the best preserved of European deltas and part of the UNESCO biosphere reservation since 1991, the Black Sea resorts or the roman empire ruins attesting Dobrogea’s history for more than 2500 years. Once a growing agricultural region, Dobrogea is also known nowadays as one of the poorest areas of Romania. The scars of the communist regime can still be seen today, after more than 20 years. Abandoned buildings, boats and deserted communal farms are part of the everyday landscape of Dobrogea, away from the eyes of tourists.
My work focuses on the small and isolated communities of people that live in the region. Mostly rural, Dobrogea is the place where more minorities live together. Turks, Tatars, Romanians, Bulgarians, they all share the same environment and the same problems. The unemployment is very high and children are born without any real future perspectives in life. Time seems to have stopped in some of Dobrogea’s villages and notions such as education, social assistance or electricity seem to be forgotten in a place located less than 50 miles away from the luxurious hotels at the Black Sea coast.
