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Vlad Brăteanu's project and publication Pachet-Paket explores the ways in which food is intertwined with personal, cultural and political legacies. Approaching the subject through his own first-hand experience, as a caring gesture from his mother, each wrapped jar hides deeper micro-narratives of migration and displacement, emphasising the lingering dichotomy between Eastern and Western Europe. Set against a white background, the wrapped jars are photographed under identical natural light coming from the right, always casting a shadow on the left side as if suggesting movement. Whether this movement refers to geographical displacement or to the informal networks of shipping, the subtly animated jars allude to a precise sequence of actions. Each jar reveals a specific kind of packing, care, material use and repeated actions, transforming them into ephemeral monuments. Their sharp, frontal and sculptural framing emphasises the visible traces of labour, hands and affection contained within each jar. Underneath a seamless automated and efficient society, an infrastructure of invisible and affective labour resurfaces more than ever." Text by Cristina Vasilescu
Vlad Brăteanu, born in Bacău, Romania, in 1986, currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Through his practice, he navigates the boundaries between public and private space, seeking signifiers of (in)visibility that raise questions about precarity, fragility, and (in)stability in neoliberal societies.
Image: Vlad Brăteanu, Pachet-Paket, 2025, archival prints on Hahnemühle paper
Publication funded by Berlin Senate Departement for Culture and Europe.
