The Museum Europäischer Kulturen (Museum of European Cultures, MEK) is the first to present an exhibition of photographs by Frank Gaudlitz taken in Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, which were formerly Soviet Republics. Since 2022, Gaudlitz and his team have been taking portraits of refugees and documenting their personal life stories there. The exhibition displays some fifty arresting images of people in makeshift accommodations – characterised by loss, uncertainty and the hope for a better future. The show will be supplemented by a projection of selected works from Gaudlitz’s extensive archive.

Currently, there are over 122 million people fleeing war, oppression, persecution and disaster around the world – more than ever before. Among them are more than 10 million Ukrainians, whose lives have been shattered by Russia’s war of aggression. They have had to leave their homes – after family members, friends and neighbours were killed, their cities heavily damaged, and staying seemed impossible. Behind them lies destruction – before them lies flight into an uncertain future.

In recent years, photographer Frank Gaudlitz has repeatedly travelled to the former Soviet Republics of Moldova, Georgia and Armenia – countries that have taken in a vast number of refugees since February 2022. Moldova, for instance, has granted more Ukrainians protection in proportion to its population than nearly any other country. Georgia and Armenia, as well, affected similarly by Russian influence and territorial conflicts, have taken in refugees not only from Ukraine but also from Russia. Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime has made it necessary for some Russians, including journalists, artists, queer people and conscientious objectors, also to leave their homeland, where they can no longer live securely.

Portraits, Quotes, Interviews – and a Book of Wishes

The exhibition at the Museum Europäischer Kulturen is the first extensive show of Frank Gaudlitz’s many-year projects in these countries. Together with his team, he has portrayed refugees and documented their life stories. The result is nearly fifty photographs of people living in makeshift quarters – reflecting loss and uncertainty, but also hope. Their faces tell of pain and fear, but also of courage and confidence. The portraits are accompanied by numerous quotations and interviews, all of which underscore an individual fate shaped by flight and a loss of homeland. In addition, those portrayed were asked to write their wishes for the future in an album. This moving Book of Wishes reveals the fears and hopes that accompany the refugees.

Complex Backgrounds and Migration’s Personal Dimensions

The exhibition makes it possible for visitors to connect abstract statistics of global refugee movements with biographies drawn from people’s actual lives. It grants access to migration’s more personal aspects and encourages discussion about the complex backgrounds of flight, exile and new beginnings in Europe. An accompanying projection shows selected works from the archive Frank Gaudlitz has assembled over many years. Since 1988, Gaudlitz has been photographically chronicling social developments from the late phase of the Soviet Union up to present-day Russia. His works provide insights into political, social and cultural transformation processes as well as into ideological continuities. A majority of the Russian population approves of their country’s persistent aggression against Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. These images make apparent how nationalism, imperialism, and militarism have established themselves in Russia today as defining social trends.

The Photographer Frank Gaudlitz

From 1987 to 1991, Frank Gaudlitz studied art photography with Arno Fischer at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig. Since then, he has realised extensive long-term projects, especially in Russia, Eastern Europe and South America. His photographic works are dedicated to social upheaval and the impact it has on life’s realities for the individual. Gaudlitz has received many awards for his work.

Exhibition Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by the bilingual (German / English) publication 24022022 | 33 Porträts / 33 Portraits | von / by Frank Gaudlitz. In addition to the portraits, it contains 18 interviews and handwritten entries from the Buch der Wünsche / Book of Wishes.

Curators

The exhibition is curated by Sofia Botvinnik (MEK), Franziska Schmidt (a freelance curator) and Andrea Vándor (coordination of East-Central and Southeastern Europe at the MEK).

A special exhibition of the Museum Europäischer Kulturen – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin