The Museum of Communist Horrors, in partnership with the Maps Museum ,welcomes you to explore the contemporary art exhibit by Sever Petrovici-Popescu, titled Historical Myopia, curated by Ioana Marinescu. This exhibition showcases a collection of photosculptures stemming from an artistic exploration of the deportation incidents in Bărăgan in 1951.

The exhibition is open from October 2023 till January 2024, with visiting hours from Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
Ticket price: 10 lei

For Historical Myopia, Sever Petrovici-Popescu uses artistic tools to present and remind the wider audience of a little-known and discussed page of history: the deportations to Bărăgan. During the communist regime in Romania, deportation was a repressive measure aimed at isolating and marginalizing those ideologically defined as „enemies of the people”. Following the displacement action on June 18, 1951, approximately 44000 people were forced to move to the Bărăgan Plain. This involved relocation from their homes under the threat of weapons and the formation of new communities with limited resources. Gradually, the 18 newly established villages were abandoned, leaving only a few houses in Dâlga Nouă, Rubla, and Fundata today.

We invite you to discover the artist’s photosculptures and the „archaeology of memory” that Sever Petrovici-Popescu practices through his art. The artist captures a vanished world, a symbolic and ritualistic exploration. Testimonies are few and often intangible. On the sites founded by deportees, traces remain only for the „archaeologists of memory”. He interviews those who experienced deportation and tries through his works to capture the spirit of the place, encapsulated in the walls of former CAPs (agricultural production cooperatives) and a few other remnants of habitation from those years. Otherwise, sky and earth, landscapes of absence, are silent witnesses to experiences and events that are challenging to put into words, even more so in images.

Special thanks for providing documentary materials and support go to Mr. Leonard Câmpeanu, the president of the Bucharest branch of the Association of Former Political Prisoners in Romania (AFDPR), Florin Rădulescu, Head of service at Călărași Municipal Museum, Cosmin Budeancă, Editor-in-Chief of „Memoria” magazine – the publication of arrested thinking, Marian Mihail, priest of Drajna Parish. Gratitude is also extended to Alex Radu/SAC (Contemporary Art Space) for their valuable assistance in organizing the exhibition.

Sever Petrovici-Popescu (b. 1986) lives and works in Bucharest. He graduated from the Photo-Video department of the National University of Arts Bucharest. In 2021, he completed a doctorate on photosculpture, analyzing how a photograph can exist materially beyond the limitations of the traditional two-dimensional medium. He has an intense exhibition activity both in Romania and abroad, with solo and group exhibitions, including „Personal Monuments” at Mogoșoaia Palace or „The Moved Stone” at the Instituto Politécnico di Tomar Gallery, Tomar, Portugal, in 2018. In 2021, he participated in SNAC, in 2022 in the exhibition „THE OTHER | L’ALTRO | THE OTHER ONE” with the „Altul Nu e Negarea Mea” group, at IRCCU Venice, and at the Bucharest Sculpture Days in 2023. https://severpetrovicipopescu.com

Ioana Marinescu (b. 1988) is a curator at the Museum of Maps and holds a Ph.D. in art history, with a thesis on the biographies of artist couples. Her professional interests include the representation of maps in contemporary art. She is the author of texts and editor for volumes such as „Mapping: Narratives/Time/Space” or „MSGTL”, presenting the works of contemporary artists from Bucharest.

Museum of Communist Horrors in Romania (Muzeul Ororilor Comunismului în România) has been involved since 2021 as both an organizer and participant in events such as the commemorations on June 18 in Timișoara, alongside the Association of Former Deportees in Bărăgan, the Conference „70 Years since the Deportations in Bărăgan” organized in partnership with the Faculty of History, and internships conducted with students from the Faculty of History at the Association of Former Political Prisoners. The most recent installation addressing the deportation theme is „ROMLAG 1945-1965”, initiated by the Maps Museum, now becoming an itinerant exhibition. https://www.mocr.ro/