In the Face of History : European Photographers in the 20th Century

"In the Face of History" navigates an important stream of European practice that remains relatively uncharted, particularly in countries of the former Eastern bloc. It is a stream that might be termed 'subjective documentary'. Here, the image is observed rather than invented, reality is recorded rather than manipulated - and yet that reality is subtly and artistically inflected by the photographer's own unique vision or experience. Often uplifting, sometimes shocking, "In the Face of History" depicts a past that is fundamentally a part of our present, and in doing so, provides a moving new take on what it means to be European.