Around thirty years ago, major social changes took place in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). During that time, some countries of the former socialist bloc also declared their independence. Slovenia was among them. On the occasion of celebrating thirty years of independence, we in Photon asked ourselves how photography recorded the time before these turning points – in the lives of ordinary people. With this exhibition project, we are not interested in fateful historical events and great personalities, but we want to offer an insight into everyday life and present some contradictions of the social system that built on a utopian vision of the future. To revisit the “family albums” of the former socialist countries, we are presenting some important photographers from the CEE region, who documented life in Eastern Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. All of them, even with different formal and aesthetic starting points, share a subjective and often humorous view of banal and absurd everyday life.

Editor: Dejan Sluga Authors of the texts: Dejan Sluga, Dr. Primož Lampič Participating artists: Andrzej Baturo, Vladimir Birgus, Janez Korošin, Branko Lenart, Zora Plešnar, Anton Podstraský, János Szász, Lenke Sziláryi. Design: Jure Legac Translators: Melita Silič, Deja Bečaj Publisher: Photon - Center za sodobno fotografijo Year: 2021 Hardcopy, 71 pages Edition: 200 copies Language: English, Slovene Dimensions: 21 x 21 cm