Morojan
From December 5, 2024, to January 19, 2025, the "Nicolae Gane" Museum of Literature in Iași, Romania, hosts the photography exhibition "MOROJAN". The opening took place on Thursday, December 5, in the presence of curator Mihaela Cozma and special guest, Associate Professor Dr. Loredana Gașpar. This exhibition project was developed in collaboration with illustrator Ana-Maria Lemnaru and creates a dialogue between tradition, ritual, and contemporary critiques of consumerism, showcasing two distinct yet interconnected series of photographs:
"The Masked" and "Ignat".
The exhibition serves as a platform for dialogue, a bridge between past and present, spirituality and modern society. The photographs and illustrations are presented in a narrative continuity, highlighting the connection between the two series through a common thread that intertwines Romanian traditions with subtle critiques of modern excess.
The photographic series "The Masked" captures a complexity that goes beyond mere documentary photography. Each frame highlights the unique details of costumes and dances, as well as the energy and emotion these traditions evoke. In contrast to this vibrancy, the "Ignat" series delves into a darker, more visceral exploration of humanity’s relationship with the ritual of sacrifice. Inspired by the Romanian tradition of pig slaughter before Christmas, this series addresses themes of excess, consumerism, and the loss of the original meaning of the holidays with a raw and unflinching aesthetic.
Special guest Associate Professor Dr. Loredana Gașpar, renowned for her expertise in archetypes and Romanian cultural symbolism, provided valuable insights into the significance of the traditions depicted in the exhibition.
MOROJAN is, therefore, an invitation to reflect on how our traditions are reinterpreted and, at times, distorted in the modern context.
Reviews
”Cristian Calistru and Ana-Maria Lemnaru guide us, through two powerful artistic forms, on a captivating journey into the cultural universe of Romanian Winter Holidays.
The authentic and untamed beauty of these traditions, expressed with vivid colors and originality, is captured in Cristian's photographs. Meanwhile, Ana-Maria emotionally decodes, with raw realism, the contrast between the archaic world and our era of excessive industrialization, concealed under multicolored packaging, through her compelling illustrations.
Through this artistic complementarity, the two succeed in conveying both a contemporary reality and a nostalgia for the past. The result is a strong, well-crafted visual discourse that invites reflection on our cultural identity.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ligia-Magda Sficlea
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”Cristian Calistru, together with Ana-Maria Lemnaru, recreates a sacred space of Time’s renewal. From the wide array of end-of-year customs and traditions, the two artists sequentially reveal glimpses of the Ignat ritual and the masked figures, each with a well-defined purpose within this expansive spectrum of winter traditions.
Profoundly spiritual, these customs remind us of humanity’s natural connection to being part of nature, contributing through their practices to the symbolic return of the sun to the sky—a presence that, during the solstice, seemed as though it might not come back.
How anchored are we still in these practices, and how connected are we to nature? This is the question that artist Cristian Calistru invites us to reflect upon.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Loredana Gașpar