Kastello. Palaces of the Roma in Romania

The fourth title in the igloo heritage series, launched in June 2008 at the subCarturesti Gallery in Bucharest, is a colourful book about a possible architecture. The album takes a look at buildings which seem to overcome the status of a peripheric phenomenon by means of their spreading and proportion. Located on the border between vernacular and formal architecture - although many would contest this categorisation - Roma architecture, as a tangible expression and immediate consequence of the sedentarisation of this population, is presented through photography in the vastness of its various means of expression, featuring borrowings, inventions and adaptations. This photographic odyssey through the three different geographical areas of the country endeavours to capture stylistic similarities as well as characteristics whose prominence varies from one area to the next, most likely the result of local or foreign influences. From palaces presented individually, details of ornamentation and mural paintings, to panoramas of the dense clusters of grandiose construction, these three-dimensional collages of architectural elements and materials are captured by the photographer with great humour and understanding, revealing this architecture in its wantonly imposing but nonetheless perishable guise. (Olivia Safer)