© Cătălin Munteanu

"After25 - The closed gates of industry." The closure of the factories and refineries around the city of Ploiești, Romania, affected the life of tens maybe hundred of thousands of people. It is hard not to have regrets regarding the falling of these colossi who were put to the ground in the last twenty years, after being up and running for decades, even centuries. The strife of generations was sold for scraps and the big gates of industry were closed forever. In 1856-1857 here was opened the world’s first oil refinery. If in 1820 the population of the city was around 2.000 people, in the first years of the 20th century the numbers of inhabitants reached to more then 50.000. The highest number of the population was in 1992 - 252.715. The reason for such a blooming in the numbers is due to the industry. The facts from here are similar with what happened after the fall of communism all over the country and from a productive nation, the population of Romania became a consumerist one. Where once plants and refineries were seen, now the landscape is packed with supermarkets and shopping malls. The workers changed their tools with baskets and their salary for credit cards.

Capturing the face of London is a matter of infinite choices, even if only buildings are in question. The depopulation of these crowded spaces seems almost unreal and impossible. Isolating the structures without seeing the sky or the ground was the only choice available to show these bulky edifices and presenting them as they are. Located in Central London, these buildings look repeatable and distinct, unacknowledged and familiar.

Cătălin Munteanu, London, 2014.

If two thousand years ago the Edwardian building that represents the heart of Caerleon Campus had existed, the Romans who landed on the shores of the Usk River would have definitely been impressed. Situated on top of a hill overlooking the valley of the same river, the building was erected in 1912 and it has had a continuous history in education ever since, from a technical college to a prestigious university. For more informations visit my blog.

The people behind the scene are true magicians.

Pungești is a small village in the Vaslui county of Romania. Situated close to the east red border, the authorities turned a blind eye on the needs of the almost 1000 inhabitants. But all until now when fracturing gas was discovered there and the place got finally some attention. Though luck for them we might say, because now their water supplies are in danger to be contaminated and the fight for their right to a healthy life is the only opportunity they have now. They are not wealthy, but they have everything they need and they know that all the riches extracted from their land will land in someone else’s pockets. The protest started during the autumn of 2013 and by the end of December the authorities sent the riot police in number of hundreds. There were more low enforcers than inhabitants. In matter of days the protester’s camp across the exploitation field was destroyed and labelled illegal. In the same time the whole village was occupied by the police forces. People were threatened and even beaten. They crossed into the New Year in fright and terror.