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Abandoned Sports Hall in Săcelu, Gorj County

WPAdmin · Jul 7, 2026 ·

Abandoned Sports Hall in Săcelu, Gorj County

Nearly 20 years ago, the Romanian government funded the construction of 400 school gyms specifically for physical education. Yet many of them were never used. The reason is simple: they were built too far from the schools, leaving students with an impractically long walk just to attend a sports class. This is a situation common across rural areas, and what is deeply troubling is that decades have passed without anyone taking steps to address it. It’s difficult to comprehend why these sports halls were ever built this way.

In the project American Night, artist Paul Graham presents the images in a high-key or over saturated manner to suggest the political invisibility and social blindness surrounding poverty and racism in America. In a similar vein, it would be fitting to render the image of this sports hall as an allegory – echoing the Romanian fairy tale expression: “You can stare at the sun, but not at her”. Buildings like this one remain ignored and stripped of any purpose, simply because politicians have no interest in acknowledging their existence.

Abandoned Sports Hall in Movileni, Olt County

WPAdmin · Jul 8, 2026 ·

Abandoned Sports Hall in Movileni, Olt County

They should have been training in a modern facility, but the building, which cost a lot of money, was placed in a field, three kilometres away from the school. The local authorities have no funds to provide transport for the students, so the hall stands empty and has begun to deteriorate. This is the reality facing countless sports halls built in rural areas across the country.

The Unplayed Game I

WPAdmin · Jul 9, 2026 ·

The Unplayed Game I

For generations, children have grown up without access to decent sports facilities.
At some point, we have to ask ourselves – do we even grasp the scale of what we have failed to give them?

The Unplayed Game II

WPAdmin · Jul 10, 2026 ·

The Unplayed Game II

For generations, children have grown up without access to decent sports facilities.
At some point, we have to ask ourselves – do we even grasp the scale of what we have failed to give them?

The Volunteer I

WPAdmin · Jul 11, 2026 ·

The Volunteer I

Inspired by Jeff Wall’s 1996 photograph Volunteer, and drawing on a peculiarly Romanian reality where one frequently encounters departments headed by managers with no one to manage, I created a series of restaged scenes illustrating this situation.

The vacant positions existed on paper, allowing bureau chiefs, department heads and directors in public institutions to automatically claim higher pay. In the public sector, the criteria for holding a managerial role are tied to the number of positions listed in the organizational chart – not the number of those actually filled.