Land ohne Eltern (Country without parents)

Photographs: 2008 – 2010
Artist monograph & exhibition

The series describes the life choices faced by migrant workers from the Republic of Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe and followed the life of divided families – the parents living in Italy and their children staying behind in Moldova. "In April 2008, I was standing in a first-grade classroom in a small village in the southeast of the Republic of Moldova when the teacher asked, ›Whose parents live in Italy?‹. Around two thirds of the children raised their hands, displaying a mixture of pride and embarrassment. I was shocked. It's one thing to read all the statistics on migrant workers and their remittances for relatives back home, but it's another matter to stand in a cold classroom before 30 six-year olds in wool caps and to realize that some of them haven't seen their parents in years…"