The Transition State / Odesa Photo Days

The exhibition The Transition State takes place as part of Fotofestiwal Lodz in partnership with Odesa Photo Days Festival and is a continuation of last year’s collaboration between the two festivals.

The Transition State

The exhibition reflects social and political changes and protest movements in Ukraine, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan over the last 30 years.

The research focuses on activism, driven by several factors, namely uneven economic development; growing corruption and social inequality; illegal changes in political leadership and illegal retention of power; dictatorship, censorship, and human rights violations. Common features of protests in different countries include demand for political changes, fight against inequalities, demand for freedom of speech and democracy.

State apparatus and society find themselves on different levels. They develop at different speed and pursue opposite goals. Government officials prefer traditional authoritarian approaches and mechanisms of interaction with society, while civil society develops in the context of international changes, information waves and globalisation processes, and therefore needs other approaches to build communication, hope and trust. 

Examples of five countries show different dynamics and processes that take place in society. This makes it possible to draw parallels and understand social and political situation in the global context. At the same time, protests in these countries share the following common characteristics: rise of social movements and political consciousness; reassessment of society’s state-building role; state violence and radical opposition to the development of new civil liberties.

Curated by Kateryna Radchenko

Artists:
Valerii Miloserdov
Maxim Dondyuk
Sasha Kurmaz
Vajiko Chachkhiani
Gulnara Kasmalieva
Muratbek Djumaliev
Timur Nusimbekov
Shailo Djekshenbaev
Yerbossyn Meldibekov
Hossein Fatemi
Maria Matiashova
Dato Koridze

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18.06, 16:00 guided tour | language: English