Hooligans in Bucharest

Author's presentation text

My name is Teodora-Georgiana Strugariu, I am 19 years old and starting this autumn I will be studying at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, in London. Throughout my life I discovered I like to create and that I am intrigued by art and innovation. Preparing for architecture, as it has been my dream since first grade, I have been commuting each weekend from Suceava to Bucharest, for the last 2 years. When I started exploring the city, I became interested in architectural and street photography. Bucharest showed me that beauty can be found in unexpected places. As I consider myself a traveller, looking for a place to settle, Bucharest gave me the feeling of belonging, a place to call “home”. However, after spending days taking photos in different neighbourhoods, I could notice that actually we are alone, surviving this hectic lifestyle. Surprisingly, I could sense that the layers of the city transferred feelings through inert materials, through different styles, that reminded me of Suceava, in a nostalgic way. For me, Bucharest became a collision of thoughts, feelings and made me reconsider my life choices. Each time I come back, I remember that the buildings, the spaces are the only ones that have a degree of consistency. We, as humans, will never be the same as we were, luckily. Therefore, only photos can keep a memory or an emotion alive.