alketa misja photography

in english

ARTifact is a photography Project in the enclosed environments of Ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana (Albania). I kept shooting the ruined machineries and spaces for several months, few weeks before the machineries were gone forever to be melted. A closer look in the old technology before it gives place to the new economy. Their photography is the epilog of the industrialisation period in my country, where huge industries were built during socialism that couldn't survive in the post-comunist era.

(history) The Project ARTiFact began in june 2013, when my friend Dhurata and I visited the ex-Automobile Plant of Tirana, Albania. We were surprised by the state of emptiness and abandonment we found and decided to photograph what was left of this gigandic industry. The Automobile Plant of Tirana used to produce spare part for vehicles and tractors and served as an assembly plant from 1966 till 1990. There were 12 production units arranged in a surface of 300,000 meter square. The general number of employees was 4100 and there were 3600 workers. From the beginning, in 1966, until the total enclosure there may have worked around 24,000 workers. In the moment of our visits 2013-2014, there were only 20 workers in the last production unit, producing spare parts for vehicles, and other 4-5 Units in the state of abandonment, with ruined machineries that were waiting to be taken and melted.  We decided to photograph what was left from the glorious plant, so the project developed in two series; first, the photography of abandoned production units and machineries, and second, the portraits of the last workers in the Plant. We called the project ARTiFact because the objects that we found, carry different meanings and values nowadays.  They bring the story of their rise and their failure too.

My motivation was to capture in photography the TIME and to evoke the memories of people that worked there. Their photography is the Epilogue of the Industrialization Period in Albania!

in albanian

Projekti ARTifact e ka zanafillen ne vitin 2013, kur sebashku me shoqen time Dhurata, fati na coi ne mjediset e braktisura te ish Kombinatit te Autotraktoreve Tirane. Duke parë sallat dhe makineritë e rrënuara, na lindi ideja të dokumentonim në fotografi atë çfarë kishte mbetur nga ky gjigand i madh industrial, i tkurur tashmë në 4-5 salla me makineri të braktisura dhe një repart i fundit me 20 punetore të cilët prodhojne akoma detaje per makineri. Në këtë mënyrë u zhvilluan 2 cikle fotografike. E para dokumentimi i sallave te braktisura dhe i portreteve te makinerive dhe objekteve te gjendura. Dhe e dyta, portretet e punëtorëve të fundit të Kombinatit. Kohezgjatja e fotografimit zgjati deri në mars 2014, kohë gjatë së cilës sallat u boshatisën dhe makineritë e mbetura shkuan për skrap, ndërkohë që reparti i punëtorëve vazhdon punon, si dëshmia e fundit e Kombinatit të Autotraktorëve.

Motivimi im ishte te flisja per kete industri te periudhes socialiste, e cila mori energjine e nje numri te madh projektuesish, inxhinieresh dhe punetoresh. Ajo eshte pjese e nje morie uzinash dhe fabrikash qe u ndertuan nga brezi I baballareve tane, dhe qe shenojne periudhen e Industrializimit te Vendit.  Ashtu si Industrite e tjera te kesaj periudhe, ato jane rezultat i Idealizmit dhe Ideologjise se kohes per te ndertuar nje shoqeri me te mire. Por duke punuar ne kushtet e nje izolimi dhe propogande te eger  komuniste, ato nuk munden te pershtaten me ndryshimet e ekonomise pas viteve '90. Fati i shumices prej tyre ishte privatizimi, ndryshimi I destinacionit, braktisja dhe shkrirja e makinerive.   Qellimi i fotografimit te sallave dhe makinerive te braktisura eshte fiksimi ne fotografi i efektit KOHE, duke shpresuar se ne kete menyre objektet flasin me mire per historine e tyre dhe njerezit qe takuan; per projektuesit te cilet i projektuan dhe ideuan ato; per punetoret qe i vune ne pune duke u specializuar ne procese te veshtira prodhimi; ashtu si edhe per Forcat qe shkaktuan prishjen e tyre... 

Fotografimi e tyre eshte Epilogu i Periudhes se Industrializimit ne Shqiperi!

In TEENS I have photographed in my studio the friends of my daughter, who are teenagers of 15-17 years old. I used a 85mm Lens, at f1,2 aperture, to achieve the shallowest depth of field. This setting allows me to have the maximum Light while focusing on a small part of the face: sometimes the eyes, the lips, the hair or the skin. I hope in this minimalistic way, the portraits reveal the beauty of the teen girls.

A photography project featuring professionals from Art and Media, wearing fresh fruits and vegetables, styled by food blogger Dhurata Thanasi. Photography Alketa Misja 2015-ongoing