"Roma Weddings"

With the support of "Culture Office, Culture Department, Depot e.V." Sunday 15th September 2019, 6 p.m., hall in the Depot, Immermannstrasse 29. Exhibition opening: Roma & Weddings. Photographs from Turkey and Bulgaria by Aydin Cetinbostanoglu. From September 16 to October 6.

“Are we overlooking the destruction of a culture, the Roma culture?” With this question, Aydin Cetinbostanoglu began his photo project in 1999, “Roma”, which continues to this day. “I think this culture can teach us so many things,” says the artist. “At a time when everyday life is becoming more and more complex, the Roma hold on to their freedom, they know how to be content with simple things such as the beauty that nature offers. It is good to get to know such a culture in which close family and community structures offer the necessary feeling of security.”

Five different Roma marriage ceremonies from Turkey and Bulgaria were exhibited in the 6th Djelem Djelem Dortmund Roma Culture Festival as a guest. The first four photographs were taken in 1999 in Istanbul. It was the first run of my Roma project. The second four photographs took place in a suburb of Istanbul, a ghetto that preserves its culture among the tall buildings of the big city. The third four photos were taken in a Roma village in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. It was one of the most beautiful Roma weddings I have ever witnessed, a ceremony that questions their past origins. The last four photos are from Europe's largest Roma ghetto in Plovdiv, Stolipinovo: a rich Roma wedding ceremony from a sub-Roma culture called Burgucu.