The Romanian cultural institutes in London and Madrid present two photo-documentary exhibitions, entitled “Freedom/Libertate” and “Timisoara Incognito – Revolutia Romana of 1989” [Timisoara Incognito – Romanian Revolution of 1989 – editor’s note], in Madrid, signed by photojournalists Andreea Alexandru (Associated Press), Constantin Duma (AGERPRES), known as the “photographer of the Timisoara Revolution,” and Vadim Ghirda (Associated Press), a laureate of the Pulitzer Prize for his photographic contribution in conflict zones.

The exhibition at the cultural institute (ICR) in London brings together images from the Revolution of December 1989 in Timisoara, as well as photographs that present the conflict in Ukraine, plus articles and press notes relevant to the two defining events of European history. The exhibition will be open over December 14, 2023 and January 15, 2024, shows a press release of the ICR London sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

In the same period, the “Timisoara Incognito” open air exhibition is presented on panels around the ICR London headquarters in Belgrave Square, being dedicated to the 2023 European Capital of Culture – Timisoara.

Constantin Duma, the “photographer of the Timisoara Revolution”, has more than 50 years of experience in photography, focusing mainly on landscape and urban photography. Working as a photojournalist both in Romania and abroad, Constantin Duma is an important figure of the cultural life of Timisoara. While having an experience of more than 20 years as a photographer working with the AGERPRES National News Agency, Constantin Duma collaborated with various groups of photographers, and also gathering significant knowledge during his work at the History Museum.

At ICR Madrid, Constantin Duma brings photos for the “Timisoara Incognito – Romanian Revolution 1989” exhibition, the first one having been taken on December 17, 1989, when he was part of the convoy that had set off for the Student Complex in the city. He went upstairs to a friend who had a camera and photographed what he saw from there.

“Those were days full of fear, full of death. During those days I saw the first unintended victim of the Revolution, a 50 years old woman who died under the tracks of a tank – for the respective soldier had not seen her! She was, pure and simple, crushed. I took pictures of everything that I could, whenever I could, and sometimes I left my camera with my friends and ran away. We all ran, like rabbits, and I was even hit with a rifle. But I know it was worth it. It was only a year after the Revolution that I exhibited those pictures, in the window of the Palace Restaurant back then,” recalls Constantin Duma.