The photography exhibition Roots and Wings is an interdisciplinary project that positions photography not merely as an aesthetic pursuit, but as a powerful instrument for social understanding and change. The initiative of the Code Participation Foundation focuses on deconstructing the stigma surrounding the Roma community in Bulgaria, transforming “invisible” social peripheries into the subject of serious and well-grounded public dialogue. In the context of marginalised communities, photography has historically often been used to exoticise its subjects or to reinforce negative stereotypes through so-called “poverty photography”. Roots and Wings consciously distances itself from this approach. Here, Nikolay Tenev’s lens functions as a mediator between “experts by experience” and the wider public. As the theorist Susan Sontag notes in her writings on photography, the image has the power to generate empathy, but only if it moves beyond the mere observation of suffering and offers context.
This project strives precisely for that – to move from voyeurism to ethical witnessing. The photographs are not simply illustrations of deprivation, but a visual articulation of human dignity that survives despite systemic deficits. Photography here becomes an act of “returning the gaze” – the community is no longer a passive object of observation, but an active participant in its own self-definition. A central focus of the exhibition is the theme of systemic inequality. Marginalisation is examined as a complex structural phenomenon in which groups of people are confined to geographical and social peripheries, where access to quality education, healthcare and the labour market is systematically restricted. The exhibition presents these realities not as personal failings of individuals, but as the result of years-long processes of exclusion. Drawing on the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “symbolic violence”, we may understand how society imposes destructive representations upon the Roma community, obstructing its genuine integration. Roots and Wings challenges this violence through a counter-narrative. Instead of familiar media clichés, the exhibition offers authentic portraits of resilience. The “roots” symbolise belonging and identity, which provide stability, while the “wings” are a metaphor for the right to development and the aspiration to transcend one’s present social position – an aspiration that is universal, yet often hindered by prejudice.
The uniqueness of this project lies in its methodological foundation. Roots and Wings is not an external, colonial gaze upon the community, but the product of authentic collaboration. The participation of “experts by experience”—parents, young activists and individuals with practical advocacy experience—ensures the legitimacy of its messages. This approach resonates with Paulo Freire’s ideas on critical consciousness: the process by which marginalised individuals begin to analyse their social situation and become agents of change. The Code Participation Foundation, in partnership with Tanya’s Dream Fund and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, has built a platform in which personal experience is transformed into a collective social position. The collaboration between the professional photographer and the community has enabled the creation of images that are both aesthetically rigorous and socially engaged.
Roots and Wings does not seek pity, as pity often creates distance and places the observer in a passive role. Its principal aim is to generate solidarity and recognition of our shared humanity. As one philosopher writes, recognising “the vulnerable life” is a fundamental step towards building a more just political and social framework. This exhibition is an invitation to reflect upon the social contract. It calls upon the viewer to acknowledge that the fate of marginalised communities is not an isolated sectoral issue, but a mirror of the democratic values and moral health of our society as a whole. Justice begins with the act of seeing – truly, without prejudice, and analytically, which Nikolay Tenev and the participants in this project succeed in transforming into a visible reality.
This event is part of the gallery’s cultural calendar marking the 125th anniversary of the founding of the art collection of Art Gallery – Kazanlak.
General media partner: Bulgarian National Radio.
