M3: Work, Memory, Movement (2008-2010)
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The project includes several series of photographs documenting various forms of labour, from hard physical labour to the intellectual one. The subjects are both from Romania, as well as from European countries where immigrant Romanians work.  The individuals photographs in the process of their work, from workers in factories to researchers, teachers, farmers, are anonymous in this project, the important element being the humanist dimension of the project, as well as the experiment – through photography – with ways of documenting the labour process while avoiding the pitfalls of past Communist propaganda.
The main motivation for the project was to bring into discussion the value of labour, which in post-communist Romania has lost much of its meaning. M3 brings into discussion the ethical values that the process of work carries in itself, such as solidarity and equity.

 


Nettuno (I), June 2008
Group of Romanian workers on a building site. Many workers are employed illegally, the conditions they work in are difficult, with high risk of accidents. In case of injury, those without legitimate employment contracts have no legal rights.

 


Iasi (RO), May 2008
Workers in a factory producing luxury shoes. A large part of the production was sold in Italy below market price. In 2008, the workers' salaries were below RON 1200 (EUR 250). When the crisis hit in 2009, the factory dramatically reduced its activity.

 


Nettuno (I), June 2008
Romanian rebar worker on a building site. While his Italian co-workers were having their lunch break, he would continue working in order to earn a little more money.

 


Iasi (RO), June 2008
Wastewater pipes works, commissioned by the City of Iaşi, using funds from a long-term EBRD loan. Most large Romanian cities took out such loans in order to modernise their urban infrastructure; the media have criticised these operations, saying that many contracts were assigned on political grounds or in a corrupt manner.

 


Iasi (RO), May 2008
Workers in a factory producing luxury shoes. Despite the fact that in 2008 the factory was using a building in the centre of the city, the conditions were difficult: insufficient space, equipment (bought used from Italy) kept operational through technical improvisations.

 


Iasi (RO), April 2009
Students from the Automation Faculty during a practical course at the Industrial Robots Laboratory. Even though during heir studies they have access to laboratories that were equipped with state-of-the-art technology after 1990, most of these students will not find jobs in Romania in an advanced technology area.

 

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Bivolari (RO), April 2010
Teachers from Iaşi, photographed in the yard of a village school 38 km away from the city. Every morning, these commuting teachers have to catch a bus at 6.45 in order to get to class on time. The Village Hall does not have the resources to reimburse the cost of the bus tickets. 

 


Prague (CZ), July 2008
Romanian worker (Czech ethnic) working in a tyre factory. The strategy of the Czech company was to employ foreign workers (especially from Romania and Ukraine), pay low salaries, and thus remain competitive in terms of price on the international market. Many Czech ethnics from Romania, especially from the villages in the Danube Gorges decided to settle in the Czech Republic, leaving behind the difficult living conditions in Romania.

 

The project was presented in the exhibitions:
M3: Work, Memory, Movement, solo show at Cupola Gallery Iasi (RO), 2009
Eurovisions, group show at Vasa Konsthall (FI), curator: Robert Back, 2010
Image at work, group show at INDEX Stockholm and Romanian Cultural Institute Stockholm (S), curator: Helena Holmberg, 2010

 

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Matei Bejenaru, M3: Work, Memory, Movement, solo show at Cupola Gallery Iasi (RO), 2009 

 


Matei Bejenaru, M3: Munca, memorie, miscare, expozitie personala, Galeria Cupola Iasi (RO), 2009

 


Matei Bejenaru, M3: Work, Memory, Movement, solo show at Cupola Gallery Iasi (RO), 2009 

 


Matei Bejenaru, M3: Work, Memory, Movement, 7 silver gelatin prints, 40x50cm each, in the frame of Eurovisions, group show at Vasa Konsthall (FI), curator: Robert Back, 2010 

 


Matei Bejenaru, M3: Work, Memory, Movement, 7 silver gelatin prints, 40x50cm each, in the frame of Image at work group show at INDEX Stockholm and Romanian Cultural Institute Stockholm (S), curator: Helena Holmberg, 2010 

 


Iasi (RO), March 2017 Three images from a private casting foundry, where employes work in very hard working conditions.