Maria Guțu: Homeland

Welcome home – or maybe not? The Moldovan photographer, Maria Guțu, invites the viewer on a journey to her homeland, a place for which she still has ambivalent feelings. Her very personal pictures reflect every facet of her emotions.

The Republic of Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe. High unemployment and a lack of prospects characterise everyday life. Around one quarter of the population has left the country in the last twenty years for economic reasons. Those left behind are mostly people who are too old to go abroad to work – and the children of those who have made their way abroad. Maria Guțu is one of those children. The Moldovan photographer grew up with her grandparents in an isolated area in the north of the country. In her “Homeland” series created between 2019 and 2023, she processes her memories of that time. “My childhood and background have shaped a lot my work. I was always inspired by nature, by quiet places: hills, rocks and forests, in general by freedom and a free spirit. I remember when I was little, I took small nature trips with my grandfather. He had a horse and a lot of other animals, and we usually went in the fields in the summer to take food for them,” the photographer remembers.

Dreamlike black and white pictures bring the memories to life: children in nature, classic costumes, men playing traditional music – that’s one side of it. Her series, however, is much more than a soft-focus retrospective from a sentimental point of view. Time and again, the protagonists’ gazes are lost in the distance, as if they are looking for something undefined. They stand perplexed in front of the camera, sometimes desperation and confusion mingling on their faces. Are tears flowing? Where are these people heading and what are their prospects? Guțu deliberately leaves these questions unanswered. What is striking is that her pictures encompass all generations: children, young people, adults – and they all seem to share a similar feeling. And even pictures devoid of people have a place in the series. A balloon in a puddle or a decapitated statue: what has happened – and will it go on? A strange heaviness and melancholy underlie everything.

“I have a love-hate relationship with my home country: on the one hand, it’s full of love for its nature and people, their kindness and openness; and on the other, I still have the teen rage about patriarchal tendencies, corruption, poverty and lack of future perspectives for young people. Moldova for me is home, it’s the place I want to return to, wherever I am. I know the people, I understand them or try to. I have favourite places, hills where I feel the peace and tranquillity of a simple life,” says Guțu, trying to find words to express her feelings for her homeland. Her images certainly manage to capture those ambivalent emotions.

Maria Guțu’s project was submitted by Misha Domozhilov and Fedora Kaplan, who are among this year’s 80 international LOBA nominators.