Europe in Black and White

Exhibition Proposal

Europe is so well gardened that it resembles a work of art, a scientifc theory, a neat metaphysical system. Man has re-created Europe in his own image. Aldous Huxley

All the photographs on this dossier are copyrighted material, and the exclusive property of C. del Romero Photography. All rights reserved.

Eiffel Tower, Paris (France)

I. The idea of Europe

Europe defnes us Europeans. It is a continent, a geographic concept, but also a social, economic, political and cultural one. Covering around 10 million square km and hosting around 740 million people, Europe is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with about 11% of the world's population. Its boundaries enclose 50 diferent countries, from gigantic European Russia, with 110 million inhabitants, to almost microscopic Vatican City, with roughly 800. Since 1957, a political and economic community has grown at the core of Europe, currently encompassing 27 countries; a number that will grow with the future incorporation of other candidate countries such as Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia or Turkey. Yet, and despite these obviously common cultural, economic and political bonds, Europe remains a complex entity that hosts a handful of religions, cultures, languages, ethnias, backgrounds and traditions. As Dutch journalist Geert Mak remarked in his renowned historical itinerary through Europe's past century, there is no single European people. There is no single all-embracing community of culture and tradition among, say, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Berlin and Belgrade.

In fact, there are at least four communities: the Northern Protestant, the Latin Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, and the Muslim Ottoman. There is no single language there are more than twenty. There are no real European political parties. And most signifcantly of all: unlike the United States, Europe still does not have a common story. The whole idea of Europe is a vague concept. Geographically, its boundaries are not strictly defned. We know that, in the West, Europe is limited by the Atlantic Ocean, and comprises several groups of islands as the Faroe, Madeira, the Canary Islands or the Aores. Greenland, however, is traditionally represented as a part of America, although belongs politically to Denmark and it is only a few miles north of Iceland, still part of Europe. It is to the East, though, where the geographical concept of Europe becomes complicated to defne. It is separated from Asia only by the Bosphorus. Some say Turkey belongs to Europe, some say it doesn't. Some say also Georgia, Armenia or even Azerbaijan are parts of Europe. Europe's eastern boundary runs along Russia, splitting the country in two through the icy steppes of the Urals. But it is only a fgurative border, not a real one. Despite being smaller than some countries such as the US, Canada, Russia or China, Europe encloses a richness of cultures, traditions and history that make it a fascinating destination, unparalleled in the world. Whereas in other continents you would have to travel miles and miles in order to fnd a diferent culture, a foreign language and a diverse historical heritage, in Europe you only need to travel a few hundred miles to leave a world and enter a completely diferent one. Some would say that there is not one Europe, but many. There is a Scandinavian Europe, a Western Europe, a Mediterranean Europe, a Balkanic Europe, an Eastern Europe... and the greatness of it underlies in the cultural diversity and heritage linked to every single country that forms this hetereogeneous and dynamic entity called Europe. This exhibition aims at portraying the diverse, evolving nature of one of the most fascinating, complex and culturally rich continents in the world at the beginning of the 21st Century.

Houses of Parliament, London (UK)

II. Europe in Black and White

Europe in Black and White is a collection of photographs taken in the past fve years in eleven European countries: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Turkey. The collection features photographs from more than 40 European cities, among which the arch-famous London, Paris, Seville, Belgrade, Prague, Sarajevo, Valencia or Istanbul; but also minor, less known towns such as Morella, berlingen, Villarluengo, Kotor, Meersburg, Ely, Norwich, Arls or Bziers. This project features a series of photographs which merge travel, architecture and urban photography with fne arts, portraying the diferent cities from audacious perspectives and angles, showing both the famous landmarks and the uncommon sights of every town. The common link between all these images is the use of black and white as a means to express the cultural heritage of what is commonly known as The Old Continent.

Europe is often portrayed as a continent anchored in its past. In some of its countries, almost every single town has a medieval church. Many major cities still boast a wealth of centenary buildings, like medieval cathedrals and palaces, most of which are still in use nowadays. Some little European towns have remained virtually untouched for centuries, ofering the visitor the chance to travel back in time by getting lost in their cobblestone, narrow, centenary alleys. Europe constantly looks at its past and faunts its immense cultural heritage with pride. She knows that she is a product of the sum of each European country's history. Europe in Black and White aims at representing this strong bond with the past by portraying European cities and their cultural heritage in black and white a chromatic remainder of the past providing each photograph with a halo of nostalgie. In these photographs we can easily identify some of the most famous European landmarks, such as the Eifel Tower in Paris, the Big Ben in London, the Giralda in Seville or the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. However, other images are more difcult to associate with the city, like the cranes in Liverpool's George Docks, the Bodensee near berlingen, Muslim graves in Mostar or contemporary architecture in Valencia. It is the combination of these two factors famous landmarks with less known features of a city what enriches the collection and makes it diferent from other, past projects that have portrayed Europe. The images that form this project are far from being traditional, commercial photographs. The fnal goal of this collection is to present Europe from an artistic point of view, inviting the visitor to refect about the present and past of one of the most complex and appealing areas in the world.

City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia (Spain)

III. Details exhibition

1. Dates: to be determined 2. Title of the project: Europe in Black and White 3. Contact details: Carlos del Romero Renau 0044 7712808431 (English number) 0034 667833608 (Spanish number) E-mail: cdelromero@gmail.com Online portfolio: http://www.cdelromero.com 4. Nature of the project: photographic exhibition

5. Brief description of the project: Europe in Black and White is an exhibition composed by a collection of photographs in black and white taken in the past fve years in diferent European cities. The project portrays diferent features of more than 40 towns and cities in the continent, among which Prague, Valencia, London, Paris or Istanbul. The photographs don't show strictly urban landscapes, but also hidden corners, people and small details, with the fnal objective of ofering a diferent and nostalgic portrait of every city. Locations are portrayed through their geometric spaces, their textures or their landmarks; creating an intimate image of every city. The collection features 76 photographs portraying 42 diferent European cities from 11 diferent countries. However, the collection can be reduced to ft the requirements of the exhibition space. The cities represented in the project are:
COUNTRIES Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic France Germany Montenegro Serbia Spain Turkey United Kingdom CITIES Mostar, Sarajevo Plovdiv, Sofa Dubrovnik Prague Arls, Avignon, Bziers, Carcassonne, Colmar, Paris, Schnenburg, Strassburg, Toulouse Freiburg, Meersburg, berlingen Kotor Belgrade Girona, Morella, Seville, Toledo, Valencia, Villarluengo Istanbul Bath, Canterbury, Cardif, Ely, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford, Peterborough, Salisbury, Stratford-upon-avon, Winchester, York, Wells

6. Itinerancy: Originally, the project was designed to be an itinerant exhibition. However, this could change depending on the requirements of the host organisation. 7. Budget: All the photographs would be provided already framed, ready to be hanged. Insurance and travel expenses would be covered by the photographer. The host organisation would only have to cover additional expenses (informative panels, leafets...), if any.

8. Possible Interest for Vietnamese visitors: Europe in Black and White portrays European cities from a diferent perspective. European countries, and particularly famous cities such as Paris, London, Prague or Istanbul are world-class touristic destinations, and the populations of Asian countries have always shown interest in Europe, its culture and its heritage. The fact that this exhibition presents these European cities from both a touristic and an artistic point of view could draw the interest of visitors interested in Europe. 9. Additional details:

SPECIFICATIONS Format Host organisation Number of photographs Sizes Time needed to mount the exhibition Time needed to dismount the exhibition Photographs Leafets, informative panels 76 23 x 15 cm Less than one day Less than one day

The collection