since 2017
European
photography
platform
Welcome to the European photography platform here you can explore a network of photographers, members of the platform and read more about us.
Artist Projects
Slobozia means freedom in Romanian but is also the name of a sleepy town in the east of the country. The project Slobozia, Texas (2020-21) relives the strange confrontation in the 80ies of Romanians under communist rule with Dallas, the legendary American campy soap. It shows oil-related landscapes, palace interiors and kitschy portraits. Slobozia has a permanent Dallas-vibe since a Romanian millionaire built a replica there of the family mansion in the soap. Ceaușescu allowed the airing of Dallas, which was at the time the only western fiction on state television. Allegedly because he thought the soap would prove to be anti-capitalistic with all its corruption, sorrows and misery. It backfired and according to some, Dallas even played a part in the Romanian revolution.
The aesthetics, the luxury, the way of life, the American dream – everything about the show exemplified the thing that Romanians did not have enough of under Ceaușescu’s regime: hope and dreams. Dallas was not innocent fictional entertainment, it carried cultural imperialist views on the world and how it should be run. In Slobozia, Texas, ordinary Romanians with a connection to the soap (people working in the Dallas Hotel or active on Dallas fan-sites f.i.) re-enact scenes of Dallas, being photographed in the unforgiving light of a soap opera set, dressed to kill, absorbed in their dreams of the past. They act and play themselves in the same image, they told me their stories, how it was then and how it is now. Blending fiction and reality, theatrical gestures, cinematic gazes, pastel colours, mirrors and eerie video stills, the images constitute a throwback to the hyper-capitalist 80-ies. Slobozia,Texas is visualizing a past moment of future hope while documenting the present.
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Events
futures activities
FUTURES is a European Photography Platform that brings together the global photography community to support and nurture the professional development of emerging artists worldwide.
FUTURES curates exhibitions and programs, including talks, through our extensive network of top European curators and artists.
The FUTURES Residency Program provides selected emerging photographers with the time, space, and resources to develop new work, with a strong focus on the artistic process and research.
FUTURES annual publications feature in-depth articles, interviews and conversations with key players from the global community. Released alongside the annual exhibition, the publication showcases work by FUTURES artists alongside commissioned essays on some of the most compelling issues in contemporary photography.