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2012 / Culture

ŠYMON KLIMAN: Beautiful People Slovakia

To celebrate the International day of Roma people and on the occasion of announcing the 4th year of awarding the work with the Roma community – Gypsy Spirit 2012, we opened photographic exhibition Beautiful People by Šymon Kliman on Hviezdoslav square in Bratislava. It consisted of portraits of Roma people, taken during years 2008 – 2011, when he visited Roma settlements around Kežmarok.

Though the original concept was very simple, the photographs were impressive. Šymon Kliman asked the Roma people to put on their best clothes and photographed them in the interiors of their homes, that is just like them, very photogenic. „Then it was easy!” says author. Portraits of Roma people from settlements are magical, they resemble a fairytale, but at the same time they reveal desire for happiness, beauty and life in better conditions.

It is in Roma settlements around Kežmarok, where our projects in health awareness and education have been running for over 10 years. Thanks to this we have a very close relationship with the locals and they accepted photographer Šymon Kliman as a friend. They have opened him the doors not just of their homes, but also of their hearts. They have let him take a look into intimate aspects of the environment they live in, and with their typical joy they participated in this original photo shooting which shows a totally different view on the lives of Roma people in the settlements around Slovakia.

Gallery