Images of the 21stCentury
March 14-23, 2014
ENRI CANAJ PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION OPENING
«ENRI CANAJ: IN A SHARP FRAME»
The opening of the Enri Canaj photography exhibition “In a Sharp Frame” took place on Saturday, March 15, 2014, at the Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki –Warehouse B1, Port. The exhibition is part of the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival sidebar events and is supported by the State Museum of Contemporary Art and the Thessaloniki Museum of Contemporary Art.
The exhibition includes photographs representative of the work of Enri Canaj: Shocking images of the crisis, immigration and marginalized people, as well as disarmingly human everyday stories passing in front of the lens. The young artist, who was born in Albania in 1980 and currently resides in Athens, turns his attention to Greece as well as the land of his birth, to capture scenes that remain indelible in the memory.
At the beginning, curator and head of production for the exhibition, Thanos Stavropoulos, noted that "the exhibition is a project in which we put all our heart and our love." At the same time, he thanked the Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival Dimitri Eipides, and the director of the Center for Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki Syrago Tsiara, for supporting the project, as well as Enri Canaj and those attending.
Following, Syrago Tsiara spoke about the collaboration between the Contemporary Art Centre of Thessaloniki and the Documentary Festival, through which the CACT keeps an eye on events outside of itself, so that it functions as a platform for images and ideas, as well as a forum for discussion, aside from being a place in which to enjoy visual art. "Besides”, as she noted, “nowadays enjoyment is not so much the issue as is the necessity of opening up to contemporary social reality.” Speaking about the work of Enri Canaj, Ms Tsiara said: "For me, Enri Canaj’s sharpness was an important discovery. In his photographs, events, scenes and images with which we are familiar through the media, are presented in a way that gives us the opportunity to question and to look beyond the obvious”.
Taking the floor, Enri Canaj stressed that he is used to being behind the lens, so it is difficult for him to speak in front of it about his work. As he said, he functions as an observer and tries to become a part of the lives of the people he is photographing. His protagonists are people who live on the margins of society - immigrants, sex workers and drug users, among others, while his lens captures dramatic images from Greece in crisis. "We live in difficult times, we need to get closer together and help each other," the director noted.
Free entrance
Duration: March 15-23, 2014
Venue: Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki (Warehouse B1, Port),
Τ.+30 2310 593 270, www.greekstatemuseum.com, www.cact.gr)
Opening hours: Daily 10:00-18:00
The parallel events of the 16th TDF are financed by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund for Central Macedonia, 2007-2013.
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