The true nature of national identity and our elemental need to bond with patriotism is questioned in the face of portraits of nationalists of a country that doesn’t exist, but whose symbols have exerted a potent enough influence to maintain a frozen conflict for 25 years.
During the split of the USSR, this sliver of land at the edge of Moldova did not willingly secede but claimed independence as a Soviet Republic. Invisible on any maps outside of its borders, it remains unrecognized by any UN state. But in 1992 a bloody war was fought between Moldovans and Transnistrian separatists and now it remains caught between its Soviet history, current isolation and a dream of annexation by Russia.
1. Nina Shtanski - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic.
2. Nikolay Smolenskiy – Police Lieutenant Colonel Expert in Transnistrian Criminal Law.
3. Nadezhda Bondarenko - Editor of Transnistrian Newspaper 'Pravda'.
4. Irina Smirnova – Director of The Museum of The Transnistrian National tragedy.
5. Igor Nebeygolova – KGB Colonel and Commander of the Cossack Regiment in Tiraspol.
professional category
THE TRANSNISTRIAN PATRIOT (Series)
DESCRIPTION
AUTHOR
Justin Barton is based in Shoreditch London in the UK.
His work focuses primarily on personal history and heritage. Seeking a deeper historiographic understanding he examines the objects and people in detail by photographing small elements and using the reflection of today to gleen unusual perspectives on the past.
Professional Awards
2015 KLPA Portrait Award (Shortlisted)
2015 Belfast Photo Festival (Selected)
2014 Moscow International Photography Awards (3rd Place Category)
2013 Lucie Foundation Emerging Photography Scholarship (Overall Winner)
2013 International Color Awards (1st Place Category)
2012 Photostory (Selected)
2012 RGB Awards (Selected)
2011 International Photography Awards (2nd Place Category)
2010 International Photography Awards (2nd Place Category)
Recent Interviews/Publications
2013 Wired
2013 Der Spiegel
2013 Its Nice That
Recent and Forthcoming Exhibitions
2015 KLPA – Portrait Award - KL Malaysia (Aug)
2015 Belfast Photofestival - Belfast NI (Jun)
2015 Silverprint Gallery - London UK (Feb)
2014 Singapore International Photo Festival - Singapore (Oct)
2014 Organ Vida Photo Festival - Zagreb Croatia(Sep)
2014 St Giles House Dorset UK (Aug)
2013 Museum Villa Stuck - Munich Germany (Sep)
2013 Organ Vida Photo Festival - Zagreb Croatia(Sep)
2013 Copenhaghen Photo Festival - Copenhagen Denmark (June)
His work focuses primarily on personal history and heritage. Seeking a deeper historiographic understanding he examines the objects and people in detail by photographing small elements and using the reflection of today to gleen unusual perspectives on the past.
Professional Awards
2015 KLPA Portrait Award (Shortlisted)
2015 Belfast Photo Festival (Selected)
2014 Moscow International Photography Awards (3rd Place Category)
2013 Lucie Foundation Emerging Photography Scholarship (Overall Winner)
2013 International Color Awards (1st Place Category)
2012 Photostory (Selected)
2012 RGB Awards (Selected)
2011 International Photography Awards (2nd Place Category)
2010 International Photography Awards (2nd Place Category)
Recent Interviews/Publications
2013 Wired
2013 Der Spiegel
2013 Its Nice That
Recent and Forthcoming Exhibitions
2015 KLPA – Portrait Award - KL Malaysia (Aug)
2015 Belfast Photofestival - Belfast NI (Jun)
2015 Silverprint Gallery - London UK (Feb)
2014 Singapore International Photo Festival - Singapore (Oct)
2014 Organ Vida Photo Festival - Zagreb Croatia(Sep)
2014 St Giles House Dorset UK (Aug)
2013 Museum Villa Stuck - Munich Germany (Sep)
2013 Organ Vida Photo Festival - Zagreb Croatia(Sep)
2013 Copenhaghen Photo Festival - Copenhagen Denmark (June)
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