Matei Bejenaru (1963) is a Romanian artist who explores the dynamics of visual representation through the language of documentary photography. By using analogue techniques, he recovers the slowness of the photographic process and transforms it into a moment of reflection on the act of seeing. His work questions the idea of an objective image and shows how it forms part of a broader crisis in systems of representation, in which the boundary between document, interpretation, and ethical responsibility becomes increasingly uncertain.
Vanatori presents a small yellow house with red outlines, immersed in the suspended silence of the Romanian countryside. At first glance, the scene appears almost fairytale-like; however, the building is surrounded by a sort of scaffolding—an element that disrupts the stillness of the landscape and introduces a sense of transience or, at the very least, of transformation. The title Vanatori, a Romanian word meaning “hunter,” which can also evoke the figure of a hound or a seeker, suggests an intention to search: an investigation into the territory, the communities that inhabit it, and the very role of the artist as an observer.
The photograph is part of the Prut project, an extensive documentary work dedicated to life in the Romanian villages along the Prut River, a body of water that not only marks the border with Moldova but also represents one of the symbolic frontiers of Eastern Europe. In this series, the river takes on a central role: it is a geographical element that shapes the organisation of the villages, but also a cultural and political boundary, a line of demarcation containing historical memories, tensions, and social transformations. Bejenaru does not merely record what he sees; he constructs a visual narrative that makes evident the complexity of the relationships between territory, identity, and rural everyday life.

The work is presented within the exhibition Prut, held at Palazzo Bentivoglio in Bologna on the occasion of Foto/Industria, the biennial promoted by Fondazione MAST, dedicated this year to the theme Home. In this context, Bejenaru’s photographs offer a valuable reflection on the notion of home as both a physical and symbolic place: a space where belonging, memory, and labour intertwine. Through these images, the artist conveys the richness of the Romanian rural scene, highlighting the dignity of everyday gestures, the strength of small communities, and the persistence of traditions that withstand the accelerations of modernity.

Matei Bejenaru, Vanatori, 2011
archival inkjet print
1200 x 90 cm
1/5+2AP
© Matei Bejenaru

22/11/25