Homeland

By Elin Spring

The notion of “Homeland” has long been used as a political device, but on an individual level, our sense of place or acceptance is very personal. Maria Gutu, winner of the 2024 Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award, addresses this dichotomy in her solo exhibition at Leica Gallery Boston. Within the political framework of the Eastern European Republic of Moldova, she takes us on her own quest for roots and a sense of belonging in a country whose identity is undergoing rapid change. Her pensive, intimate black and white photographs draw personal connections between rural natives and their “Homeland,” on view at Leica Gallery Boston through January 4^th, 2026.

“Going home, Riscani” 2022, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

“Boys during Три край , Tetcani” 2023, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

Sandwiched between Ukraine to the east and Romania to the west, the tiny Eastern European Republic of Moldova is a former Soviet Republic that is experiencing societal transformation. One third of its largely rural population has emigrated in recent years in order to pursue better employment opportunities in Russia and beyond. Not surprisingly, this exodus consists mostly of young adults. Those staying behind are either those too old to work abroad or the children of those who have gone. Maria Gutu was one of those children. She and others like her have been left searching for both personal and national identity as they come of age.

“The boys on bicycles, Izvoare” 2019, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

Feature Image: “Maria on the hill, Sofia” 2024, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

“Tenderness: Tamara, a village woman with her best friend, having a moment of peace” Sofia, 2024, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

Maria Gutu’s sumptuous B&W film photographs are all created outdoors. From open, misty fields and redolent remnants of the Soviet regime to those celebrating New Year’s traditions, she tracks the shifts in rural life. Past, present and a plaintive questioning of the future suffuse her empathic compositions. A spider’s web entrapping a flower seems metaphoric for the delicate balance of life’s demands. A woman being comforted in a friend’s lap conveys a melancholic sense of life’s burdens. A young girl appears to ponder her future as she shields one eye and warily glances outward with the other.

“Spider web, Sofia” 2023, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

“Lenin statue without the head, Zaicani” 2020, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

“Forest lady, Cociulia” 2023, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

At only 29 years old herself, Gutu seems especially taken with children. Compared to past generations, their naiveté enjoys a brief, compressed timespan before the hyper-connected world rushes in. Photographs like “The boys on bicycles,” “Summer peace,” and “Twin sisters” all cherish this period of innocence.

“Summer peace, Dumeni” 2020, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

“Twin sisters, Horesti” 2023, from the series Homeland by Maria Gutu, courtesy of the artist and Leica Gallery Boston.

Gutu’s sensitive, gestural photographs of both the young and old take a poignant pulse of her country. Though they reference a specific place and time, they ring universal and while they address a particular socio-political climate, their tone feels immediate and personal. It is a fitting tribute to Maria Gutu’s visually alluring, emotionally compelling and elegantly printed “Homeland” photographs that she was named Winner the 2024 Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award.

For more information about this exhibit, go to: https://leicagalleryboston.com/exhibitions/