Seven Borders / Diptychs

For this series I traveled along the frontiers of Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo and looked at the meaning of these borders in lives and landscapes. The Balkan conflict of unity and separation seems to tear the hearts of the people. At the same time the Balkan countries paradoxically cherish all the ambition of a united future within the European Union. An important principle in the photographic outcome are the never changing landscapes of ex-Yugoslavia and Albania and the visible traces of the turbulent history of the region versus the huge implications of this for the people living in each of the seven border regions and their present lives. With thanks to Festival Photoreporter in St. Brieuc (F) who made it possible with a grant to make the project and exhibit it in their festival in 2014