‘People of the Pit’ Captures a Disappearing Community on the Outskirts of Bucharest
Dubbed The Last People of the Pit, this documentary photography series by photographer Sorin Vidis attempts to preserve in images what remains of a community that has made its home in an urban oasis on the outskirts of Bucharest.
Shaped by political upheaval and abandoned construction, this location was once home to a monastery complete with a district of houses and beautiful gardens. That all changed in the 1980s when the Ceausescu regime decided that the area would instead become the location of a manmade lake.
The project, however, never ended up making it past the initial stages, leaving in its wake an urban oasis fed by the natural, underground springs where many individuals and families who are struggling financially have made their home.
It is this community that Vidis has captured on film:
Separated from the more scenic areas of Bucharest, this psuedo-outcast location is full of make-shift huts and neighborhoods pieced together by impoverished families and friends. But as the younger generation leaves in search of better opportunities and a better life, they leave a rather unique subculture — both literally and metaphorically — written in the dust.
People of the Pit is, therefore, a chronicle of a community that probably won’t survive too much longer. Thanks in part to Vidis’ photography, this sub-culture that may have disappeared without a trace is able to live on in photos.
Head over to Vidis’ website to learn more and/or keep up with his current and future projects.
(via Feature Shoot)
Image credits: Photographs by Sorin Vidis and used with permission
