«Hans Peter Jost does not allow us to reminisce for long, he satisfies our curiosity for history, but confronts us with the reality we have created over the past 20 years,» says Fatos Lubonja, one of Albania's most critical journalists, about the work of the photographer who has been visiting Albania regularly since the fall of the country's communist regime.
This assessment also applies to the artist's latest work dedicated to the women of Albania. In a subtle yet ironic manner with a fundamental sense of respect and curiosity, he describes the numerous parallel worlds of the ‹Sisters of Rozafa›, who have gone about their daily lives for centuries at the dividing line between East and West, Islam and Christianity, Communism and Capitalism. Hardly noticed in Albania's male dominated public sphere, these women are the tireless force behind a society which was literally catapulted into alleged freedom after decades of dictatorship and isolation. Since then, they have experienced optimism and hope, instability and corruption, equality of rights and the restrictions of traditional medieval rules of conduct which still penetrate and control each and every aspect of their lives.
HANS PETER JOST, born in Zurich in 1953, is a freelance photographer whose work focuses on documentary photography and portraits. He has been taking photographs in Albania for more than 20 years. He currently lives and works in Borgo Pace, Italy.
Latest project: ‹ALBANIA IN TRANSITION›
Sa 19.10., 17.00h, VERNISSAGE
