By Maire Rowland
How does Tirana look to the outsider? This is one of the questions that two Italian photographers choose to explore with their exhibition Life in Tirana. The collection contains photographs that the two women, Cristina Anna Claudia and Saka Onnella have gathered during the last twelve months. Both moved to Tirana for European Voluntary Service place with the Institute of Environmental Policy. Their interest in environmental issues and their curiosity in Albanian life and culture inspired them to explore their experiences of living in Albania through photographs of the city and its paradoxical beauty.
Tirana is not a city of great aesthetic beauty and the pollution and traffic can often mask the interesting and special elements that make it unique. This photo exhibition aims to scratch the surface and display everyday images that portray what life is like for those that live there. What strikes one most about the pictures on display is the quiet, calmness they instil. The opposite of what one normally perceives of living in Tirana i.e car horns, pumping music and chaotic traffic.
The collection includes pictures of graffiti scrawled on the city walls, plants and decor of Tirana cafes and rippling water at the artificial lake. Youth, nature and socializing- the three most beautiful and vibrant elements of life in Albania. Through the eyes of these two Italians who have set up home in Tirana we can appreciate and see the everyday beauty that it is easy to overlook when you become used to the slog of the daily commute or become jaded with city life. Often times undeniable beauty is right under our noses, this collection inspires us to start looking at Tirana as if we are seeing it for the first time, and that is a magical experience.
The collection is on display at Qendra Rinore Arka in Shkoder.
