mariana kostandini

The Ones We Lost
2024

The Ones We Lost – is a research project of family archive photos taken between 1920 and 2000, on which I interfered in a spontaneous, almost childlike way—with a touch of lightness, but also, in some sense, boldness faced with the weight of family narratives and the stories that emerge from contact with these archives—stories that are unknown, inevitably incomplete, and necessarily fictional, yet also open. This work explores the family portrait: the place each of us holds within it, and how we enter and exit this familial tableau. Though it may seem hermetic, I believe it is important to question our own family portraits again—to understand, to remember, and perhaps to weave new narratives.

On a larger level, the work also deals with collective memory within a specific socio-historical context: that of my country, Albania.
The photographs were taken over a wide span of time, during which the country experienced intense upheaval—from independence from the Ottoman Empire, to becoming a kingdom, to fascist and Nazi invasions, fifty years of strict communism, and a chaotic transition to today’s liberal capitalism. These are also images of being together in a society undergoing transformation—moments of friendship, intimacy and celebration.

The Ones We Lost - currently showing in the frame of the group show "Faire Famille", curated by Yandé Diouf for Le Nouveau Printemps 2025 by Kiddy Smile. Toulouse France > 21 september 2025

This project was part of "Vazhdë - Curated with Care" by Tirana Art Lab and Bazament Art Space, Tirana Nov 30th - Dec 14th 2023