Passing High

To discover that there is an official geographical centre of Europe and that it is currently recognised as being within the
ex-Soviet Baltic state of Lithuania, may seem a whimsical reward for what has been a turbulent history for this small country. As the most recent member state to join the European Union and at a time when the very concept of Europe is under scrutiny, economically uncertain and central to heightened political debate, Lithuania reveals itself as a country whose people are in search of an enduring identity and a place at the European table.

Laurie Griffiths and Jonty Tacon, as part of the MAP6 Photographic Collective’s recent trip to Lithuania, chose to visit a remote and largely unknown Lithuanian town called Visaginas. Set near the border of Latvia and Belarus, Visaginas is an ex-Soviet town that is defined by its sole purpose – to house the workers and builders of what was once the world’s most powerful nuclear power station. At its peak, the Ignalina twin-reactor plant had ambitions to be joined by a third, fourth, fifth and sixth reactor. Ambitions that secured a lucrative future for the people of Visaginas. However, the idea of an ex-Soviet nuclear power plant in the heart of Europe that shared the same technology as the ill-fated Chernobyl, proved a step too far for Brussels, and its closure became a central condition of Lithuania’s acceptance into the Union.

The impact on the less than 40 year old town of Visaginas, that has gone from being an example of a Soviet utopian dream to a town with an uncertain future, became the subject of Laurie and Jonty’s photographic study in the Autumn of 2015. As they immersed themselves into the closed community of largely Russian nationals that still live in the town and with unprecedented access to the deeply-guarded inner sanctum of the power station itself, a picture of pride, survival, community and a fractured identity emerged.

Babochka (Butterfly) is the soon to be published collection of images and academic essays that embodies their experience. A mixture of the everyday and the monumental, their joint project seamlessly takes the reader on a journey that begins at the very core of the power station itself, through the town, its people and a suggestion of what is to come. This is a story of purpose and place and challenges the very notion of what it means to be European.

www.babochka.co.uk

Ever since the first mountain stage was introduced into the Tour de France in 1910 road cycling has had a special relationship with the mountains of western Europe. They are the stadiums of the sport, bearing witness to the feats of endurance that the cycling is so famous for, and the places where fans can literally touch the riders. The fact they are open roads also means that amateurs riders are able to test themselves in the arenas of the world’s best.

Ascending a high pass by bike is a sensation that is hard to match. The activity forces focus, effort and restraint, yet allows the mind to wander, random details stick in the mind and become memories of the experience. Kilometre after kilometre, it is at once painful and enjoyable, intimidating, enticing and meditative, a careful management of energy and a solitary endeavour, even when in the company of others. Pure escapism.

These images cover some of the most iconic climbs in the sports history. Scenes of the majestic and the mundane, they reflect the rider’s experience of climbing the roads that form a pillar foundation of the sport’s reputation.