The Photography Exhibition ”Wounded Light” at the Institute for Romanistics of the University of Vienna

Mădălin Mărienuț, photographer and lecturer, PhD, at the Faculty of Arts and Design of the West University of Timișoara, presents the photography exhibition „Wounded Light” at the Institute for Romanistics of the University of Vienna between the 20th of October and the 30th of November. The photographic project shows the actual image of the industry in Jiul Valley, in an artistic – documentary manner. It is made up of a series of photographs which are the result of the photographic documentation of the area in the period 2020-2021. In the context of the opening of the exhibition, on the 19^th of October, the project will be presented for the students of the institute by Mădălin Mărienuț together with Dr. Florin Oprescu, lecturer at the Institute for Romanistics.

”Using the means of plastic expression, the photographic exhibition ”Wounded Light” intends to transmit more than an information on the existent situation, mainly an invitation launched for the spectator to better understand the reality in the Jiul Valley. If the human eye has the capacity to adapt quickly to the rapid change of the light conditions, the camera does not have this possibility without the intervention of the photographer. Through the used technique, this series of photographs, (which will also be presented in an album) proposes a connexion between the subterranean world, animated by the few miners who are still working in the underground, and the exterior world they come into contact with when they get out of the mine. The series describes the geographical area of the old mines, most of them closed: the smoke horn of almost 220 meters in Lupeni, the statues of the two Stahanovist miners in Uricani, kilometres of abandoned concrete, but also locations such as the football stadium Jiul Petroșani, which once abounded in spectators. ” (Mădălin Mărienuț)

 Mădălin MĂRIENUȚ is photographer and lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Design at the West University of Timișoara, where he teaches Photography courses. Between 2013-2016 he followed PhD studies at the Faculty of Arts and Design at the West University of Timișoara, being awarded the title of Doctor in Visual Arts in 2017 with the study ”Intimacy as Spectacle in Visual Arts”

Starting with 2007, he exhibited works in over 20 national collective exhibitions (Arad, Oradea, Timișoara, Craiova, Bucharest) and international ones (Serbia, Ucraine, Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Turkey). In 2012 he has his first personal exhibition, TAG ME, in Arad, followed by INDIgenous in 2013 in Timișoara (Calpe Gallery) and Bucharest (Museum of the Romanian Peasant). In 2015 he presents the exhibition „Fotografia-document nostalgic / Photography - nostalgic document” at Teba – CityZenit Gallery Arad. In 2017 he participates in the exhibition „Surveillance Society” in Athens, at Void Gallery, followed in 2018 by the exhibition „Athens” at the same gallery. In 2019 he has his personal exhibition at RCI Vienna within the launching of the book „Morfologiile puterii / The Morphologies of Power” by Florin Oprescu.

Part of the project ”Wounded Light” was exposed for the first time in October – November 2020 in Athens as part of the collective exhibition ”Balkans Today. The present of a wounded landscape”.