Stones / 2011

In series “Stones” Hofmanis has drawn attention to locations in the Strasburg city environment, which have been marked with compositions made of stones. As stated by the photographer, stones were one of the first elements in Strasbourg that caught his eye. The seemingly ordinary objects attract attention with the carefully planned compositions and consistency in size so in harmony with the urban space in the suburbs of the city. Strasbourg is one of the European cities, where stone layers are regulated by the public order policy. To some degree, the stones serve as fortification elements that protect the empty sections of land from the travellers’ caravans and unauthorized car parking. A few centuries ago it was a wall, in the age of democracy – stones that at the home of the European Union Parliament take care of safety, tidiness and hygiene. Hofmanis’ photographs provoke thoughts on the life beyond the shot, too – what Strasbourg would look like without these heavy landscape “guardians”.

Arnis Balčus, FK Editor-in-chief

// exhibition picture © Reinis Hofmanis