In photos: Albania in Transition

“In the course of time a patina develops over the past. Although engraved in the memory, it becomes increasingly fragmented and blurred”, writes Fatos Lubonja in the introduction to the book Albania in Transition 1991 -, which appeared in September published by the Swiss Benteli Verlag. Fatos Lubonja was a political prisoner of the regime for almost two decades, today the journalist and writer is one of the few critical observers of his country.
He continues, “But when I looked at Hans Peter Jost’s photographs of the unforgettable early 1990s, the memories swam powerfully to the surface. Memories of the social instability of these years, the lack of orientation and the fear, but also the immense joy and hope which began to spread after half a century of isolation under the communist regime in Albania.”
This commentary accurately describes the work of Hans Peter Jost who in his book about Albania once again presents the results of a long-term project. “He does not allow us to wallow long in nostalgia, does not just satisfy our curiosity about history but confronts us with the reality that we have created in the last 20 years.”
The photographer allowed himself the time to structure the complexity of the subject portrayed and to describe more precisely the themes presented. He is characterized by an uncompromising discipline in researching and implementing his work, by the respect and high degree of sensitivity shown his dealings with individuals and at the same time irreverence and a distanced irony towards institutions and conventions.
Through this approach he manages to make his carefully chosen pictures, which were taken over a period of two decades, into symbols of Albania’s social transformation.
Born 1953 in Zurich, Switzerland, Hans Peter Jost lives and works as a Photographer in Borgo Pace, Italy. Since 1984 he collaborates as a freelance Photo-journalist with numerous print media. People and their social environment is in the centre of his work and interest.