Andrej Bán - The Other Slovakia 2002

The exhibition will last from March 12th until March 30th, 2003
Opening hours: daily from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. except Mondays

"In my work as reporter I have come to realize that more interesting than 'the main stage' is, for the most part, the backstage of events. Hence, unintentional gestures, ambiguous situations and possibly also such as are difficult to understand, and in which - and I am convinced of this - something spontaneous and unique appears at certain moments. I am most interested in authentic life, rituals and customs of the ordinary people who live as if against the current of time. I am intimately familiar with Slovakia and particularly its remote spots. I am interested in a Slovakia that is disappearing, one that cannot and maybe does not wish to get even with "the new times". This apparent rigidity on the part of a country being transformed is but an external mask to grave internal dramas. That is also why in my book The Other Slovakia I have written just one sentence: "It may happen that you won't find such a country on any map".

ANDREJ BÁN, November 2002.

Documentary photography is for us often a great inspiration, with life surprisingly bringing situations, like the best scripter couldn't imagine. Therefore we create space for unlimited composition of best Slovak documentry photographers and we struggle to be as convincing, clear and accomplishing as them.

Juraj Vaculík

The winner of the first year of the grant program Photodocument.sk of advertising agency JVCS in February 2002 was photographer Andrej Bán.