Artist
Cristina Gârleșteanu
Cristina Gârleșteanu (b. 1984) is a photographer and marketing professional. With a background in social sciences – she attended the Faculty of International Relations and European Studies at UBB Cluj-Napoca – photography was a means to bring her closer to this field. A former Editor-in-Chief of the online magazine FOTO4all, Gârleșteanu is also a co-founder of Bucharest Photo Week. Her images have been published in a range of magazines, whilst her work has featured in various group and solo exhibitions, most recently in the USA and Mexico. Gârleșteanu is a member of Women Street Photographers. Her photobook, The Flight Odyssey, was published in 2022.
Looking at loneliness
“Loneliness is personal, and it is also political. Loneliness is collective, it is a city.” (Olivia Laing)
The idea of solitude and isolation is central to the culture of the city. Yet it is hard to believe that anyone could be lonely in the city, surrounded by millions of people. But urban loneliness is real. Loneliness is a subjective state and not necessarily about being alone. It can run deep in the fabric of a person, or it can be transient – a reaction to different external circumstances that sooner or later dissipates. Someone can be lonely in a crowd, if they feel disconnection. It’s not enough just to live in close proximity to others. We need to reach out and connect in order to form meaningful relationships or feel like we belong. Cities can be overwhelming places, full of anonymous strangers. Cities can be lonely places. With their layers of people, buildings, wires, cars, stairs and signs and lines, traffic networks and flows. With their antisocial politeness – avoiding chats, hellos or smiles to avoid imposing on other people’s space. With the anonymity and freedom they offer; a freedom we all crave sometimes, but one that comes with a price. Loneliness can be difficult to confess to – and difficult to categorise. This body of work aims to address the complexity of urban loneliness, no matter the form it takes. By conjuring fragments or depictions of urban loneliness – photographed all over the world – the viewer is invited to confront this sense of solitude, and to question visual memory as a method of becoming aware.
In alphabetical order, the five Photo Romania artists for the Futures project this year are: Claudiu Guraliuc, Cristina Gârleșteanu, Hajdu Tamas, Luiza Marinaș and Luciana Vulea.