2 star trip
2010
The project documents the Romanian touristic destinations along with their aesthetic, functional and situational contradictions, in the recent years all Romanian tourist areas suffering by severe economic and social alterations.
Once, they used to be the only vacation alternative for the citizens of Romania, as people were not allowed to travel outside the country during Communism. Before 1989, Romanian tourist resorts, either on the Black Sea or in the Carpathian Mountains, drew the entire population seeking for relaxation during summer or winter holidays. A two-week holiday in one of these places was affordable even for the most humble of families. As a consequence, these regions relied heavily on tourism from an economic point of view. They were also quite profitable, due to the high amount of tourists who were visiting each year. Once the borders of Romania were opened and Communist tourism industry collapsed in the transition years of the 1990s, these areas were abandoned both by the visitors, and also by the Romanian state, that was actually their lawful owner.
Moreover, tourist resorts were no longer competitive on the local and international market. In most cases, the sudden transformation from upscale wellness resorts to derelict deserted areas left them in a precarious state. In the following years, some of the remaining functional businesses such as hotels and hostels, tried to combine the preservation of the Communist aesthetics from their Golden Era with more modern attributes.
About twenty years ago, the two star hotels and their outbuildings used to be the main target of the famous two weeks seaside holiday. Back then, spending time on the seaside was considered to be an indication of social status, connected to the relative well being of an average Romanian family. Nowadays, these seaside resorts liven up only during weekends, according to current habits. The resorts run by local families make these hotels obsolete. They are no longer the attraction, or the main vacation event. In the meantime they have only become the destination of occasional runaway trips.
The project recreates these two weeks stays in various seaside locations.
available in series of 80x65cm