Coincidences and side projects

As usual I’ve been thinking about completely changing the Borders project again. Over the last few days I’ve noticed that well over half of the photographs I take in Vilnius that ever get to see the light of day (ie. that get posted on a website somewhere) are taken at Kalvarijų Turgus (Kalvarijai Market). I’m still toying with the idea of moving the whole photographic show here, and will report back on the subject shortly. In the mean time, I just wanted to put this down on the subject. Proof once again if ever it was needed again that research is king. In 2002 I wrote about all of the different markets in Vilnius, including Kalvarijų Turgus. As luck would have it, I still have a copy of what I wrote, and using that as a starting point I was soon on a bizarre rollercoaster ride. During the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, Kalvarijų Turgus was named Dzeržinskio Turgus after the Belarusian-born Polish Jew, Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (1877-1926), who went to school in Vilnius and who’s best remembered as being the founder of the Bolshevik secret police, the Cheka. Lenin idolised Dzerzhinsky and considered him a true revolutionary hero. As such, all manner of things got named in his honour including a commune in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which in 1932 started an innovative programme using young homeless people to produce a replica of our old friend the Leica, the FED (as in Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky). I became particular interested in Kalvarijų Turgus when I discovered that the back section of it features an impromptu set of stalls selling second-hand goods including the occasional Soviet-era camera. I thought this was really interesting and because I’d like to shoot film again I’ve come up with an idea for shooting a series of portraits of market stallholders. What would be perfect would be portraits of stallholders who once had a run-in with what the Cheka eventually became, the KGB. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

On a different note I’ve been approached by an English friend living in Vilnius who wants me to work with him on a project about Vilnius DJs. Part of the Vilnius City of Culture 2009 thing (see earlier posts), we’re currently talking about how to do it. I’m keen to use the Nokia, which I’ve been busy developing a philosophy for. Small is beautiful. Today I’ve been reading about miniature portrait painting, of whom the Flemish during the 16th century were arguably the best. My dad’s family came to England from that part of the world during the same century. More coincidences. Anyway, a formal project with a mobile phone is a challenge. Watch this space.