As the celebrations of Romania's Culture Day are getting closer, we invite you to discover Ion Paciu's revealing portraits of Romanians from all walks of life who, in the past years, have come to call London their home. The exhibition, entitled 'Revisiting Romania: Portraits from London', opened in 2014 at the Horniman Museum as part of a major programme celebrating Romanian identity, old and new, and was later shown by the British Embassy in Bucharest, during the festivities occasioned by the Queen's Day, and at the Romanian Cultural Institute's headquarters.
More than 150,000 Romanians are currently living in the UK. Some have been here for more than 40 years, others have just arrived. Each with their own experiences, hopes and achievements. With an amazing talent for characterization, Ion Paciu manages to pierce the veil of appearances, transforming his 35 portraits into a telling story of a thriving community.
"When I bought my first camera I thought that just pressing the shutter would be enough to take a good photograph. Very soon I discovered that looking through the camera viewfinder is a further step into the world of the unknown and unseen and that the camera is an amazing instrument that teaches your eyes how to see the world without it." - Ion Paciu
Photographer Ion Paciu moved to London in 2003. He is a member of the Royal Photographic Society and the tutor and founder of Photoion Photography School™. Ion has experience in all areas of people photography, be that portrait, fashion, event or editorial photography, but his real strengths lie in corporate, fashion, editorial, advertising, portraiture and conceptual work. He also specialises in interior design and cityscape photography.
When: 1 December 2015 - 29 January 2016. Open: Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm.
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute, London SW1X 8PH.
Free entrance.
