Tomoya Imamura (1991), Born in Duisburg, Germany, Bachelor of Arts, Communication Design, Folkwang University der Kunste, Essen Master of Arts, Photography Studies and Practice Folkwang University der Kunste, Essen.
Over the next months we will showcase the finalists and winners of Verzasca Foto Festival Awards 2019. Verzasca Foto is a festival taking place in the small village of Sonogno Val Verzasca, located in the Swiss Alps, from 5th to 8th September 2019.
Here it is "Petrofi's Corpse" by Tomoya Imamura, one of the 6 photo series shortlisted for the award:
Petofi's Corpse is the attempt to describe the Hungarian present whose post-socialist reality nourishes a new form of nationalism. After centuries of foreign rule, the perspective of the loser shaped the identity of the country and today leads to a rediscovery and reinvention of one’s own history. Pre-Christian legends and heroic stories from the many failed revolutions strengthen the self-confidence of a people that no longer wants to see itself in a European supporting role.
This image series combines documentary photography and staged images to create a parallel to the reality and staging of the present. Part of this staging are paper-m.ch. objects, which partly represent Hungarian national symbolism, partly Eastern European clich.s, as well as communist symbolism. Scenes and portraits depict everyday situations in which these symbols are inserted. They serve as a white projection surface or burnout form. For outsiders, they are almost the only direct reference to Hungary, although the national symbolism depicted does not provide more information about Hungary than the occasional Hungarian-language lettering. The location thus remains in Eastern Europe and emphasizes the communist veil that poured the former Eastern bloc into uniform concrete.
