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QUICK EAST


A trip through Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, 2018  

In the summer of 2018, 3 art students embarked on a 3 weeks road trip around the Black Sea.

More than 7000 kilometres towards east.  

Their expedition started from Bucharest and had a first stop in Chișinău - a very strange place, reminding of childhood in Romania. Kiev was the next stop, followed by Mar'ivka. Before crossing into Russia, the Ukrainian police insisted to receive 500 euros as bribe (one of the police officers took one of the students, the driver, one hour drive back to Mar'ivka only so he can withdraw money from an ATM). Sometime after the incident, a journalist told them that in such situations the solution is simple: call your embassy. By the time they knew that, the protagonists have already crossed the border and they were on their way to Kremenchuk.  

Further on their journey, they passed through Kharkiv, Rostov-On-Don, Anapa and Essentuki.

All these felt like time capsules, where life goes on but only within itself.  

On their course to Makhachkala, adventurers crossed through Dagestan. In the past, this region has been heavily influenced by the conflict between the Islamic state and the Soviet Union. Still a very strict and militarised area today, our travellers often passed by armed soldiers, tanks and fortified checkpoints.  

On their way home, the students crossed Georgia, Turkey and Bulgaria.  

The overall feeling after this expedition was of being overwhelmed, especially due to the large amount of time they spent in the car, racing on (mostly nonexistent) asphalt.  

I have decided to select strictly images shot from the car, emotionally detached frames in motion.

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