(english version below)
Am inceput sa fotografiez turnuri in octombrie 2005. De atunci a trecut un an si sapte luni de zile. La inceput mi-am propus sa pozez toate turnurile de apa din Bucuresti, dar pe parcurs mi-am dat seama ca documentarea mea nu poate fi exhaustiva.
Mai sunt inca multe turnuri de apa de metal, de exemplu, pe care nu am reusit sa le fotografiez. Cred ca am ajuns sa acopar cam 90% din totalul de turnuri existente in Bucuresti si pe raza comunelor si oraselor din imprejurimi. Documentarea mea ia sfarsit aici, iar ultimul turn poarta numarul 114.
Multumesc mult tuturor celor care mi-au dat informatii, celor care m-au incurajat si chiar si celor curiosi, care m-au facut sa cred ca toate calatoriile mele prin oras nu aveau relevanta doar pentru subiectivitatea mea.
Am reusit pentru un timp sa uit de imaginea urata a unui oras jerpelit si murdar, pe care mi-o construisem in minte pornind de la peisajul urban neprimitor si pe care apoi o consolidasem cu ajutorul lecturilor despre demolarile care au precedat constructia Casei Poporului.
Dupa un an si sapte luni de calatorii prin zone marginale si prin locuri prin care cetatenii orasului nu calca prea des, sau le ignora, ma intorc incetul cu incetul la viziunea asta sumbra despre oras.
Ma bucur insa ca tot timpul cat au tinut aceste calatorii am avut un motiv sa ies din casa in fiecare samabata si duminica, incat orasul nu a mai fost o cutie in care ma simteam constrans sa locuiesc, chinuit de nostalgia unor locuri cu forme de relief, acoperite de vegetatie, pe care le bantuiam in copilarie.
Sunt multumit si de faptul ca Elena Ciobanu a venit de multe ori cu mine, reusind sa faca niste poze interesante unor locuri pe care le-as fi descoperit oricum, dar a caror imagine mie nu imi era folositoare.
Dupa toate aceste plimbari am ajuns la concluzia ca Bucurestiul este un oras care poate deveni interesant, daca esti dispus sa depui niste efort ca sa il descoperi. Are ruine, parcuri parasite, turnuri, forturi si tuneluri, incat imaginatia oricarui explorator poate fi satisfacuta de niste locuri care simti ca iti dilata visele.
Cu toate astea, orasul e tenace in rautatea lui si dupa un timp, in momentul in care eforturile de a-l vedea in alt fel incep sa sovaie, isi ia inapoi minunatiile, aruncand in fata curiosilor amestecul lui banal si absurd de carpeala, murdarie si dezamagire.
good bye
I started taking photos of water towers in October 2005. Since then a year and seven months have passed. At first, I wanted to take photos of all the water towers in Bucharest, but along the way I realized that my documentation cannot be exhaustive.
There are still a lot of metal water towers, for example, that I have not managed to take photos of. However, I think I have covered around 90% of the total of water towers that can be found in Bucharest and in the neighboring villages and cities. My documentation project ends here. The last watertower I photographed bears the number 114.
I wish to thank all of those who provided information, and all of those who encouraged me, and even the curious ones, who made me believe that all my journeys through the city are not only relevant to my subjectivity.
For a given period of time I managed to forget all about the repulsive image of a trampled and dirty city, that I had built in my head starting from the unwelcoming urban landscape, and that I had further enforced with the help of my reading about the demolitions that took place before the construction of the House of the People.
After one year and seven months of journeys through marginal areas, through places that the citizens of the city do not visit too often, or completely ignore, I am slowly returning to my gloomy vision of my city.
But I am glad that all throughout this period of city exploration I had a reason to get out of the house every Saturday and Sunday, so that my city was no longer a kind of box inside which I had to live, tormented by the nostalgia of certain places with hills and valleys, covered with vegetation, that I used to explore as a child.
I am also quite pleased with the fact that Elena Ciobanu came with me on many of these journeys, and managed to make some interesting photos of certain places that I would have discovered anyway, but whose image was not useful to me at that time.
After all these walks through the city I came to the conclusion that Bucharest is a city that can be interesting, should one be willing to make an effort to discover it. The city contains ruins, deserted parks, towers, forts and tunnels, so that the imagination of any explorer can be satisfied by a series of places that can enhance your dreams.
Nevertheless, Bucharest is tenacious and malignant, and after a while, when the efforts to create a new image of the city start to hesitate, it takes back its marvels, throwing its mundane and absurd mixture of bricolage, dirt and disappointment in the face of the curious observer.
