Where Orpheus Lies Buried

Ilija Trojanow and Christian Muhrbeck have travelled the length and breadth of the Balkans for years, exploring the region’s varied facets, from its archaic culture through the blood-soaked conflicts of the recent past to a more peaceful post-socialist modernity. Steering clear of cliché and stereotype, Muhrbeck’s photographs capture snapshots of everyday life on the outer frontiers of Europe. Ilja Trojanow’s texts complement these vivid pictures with stories that switch effortlessly between genres from straightforward reportage to lyrical poetry. The result is a felicitous fusion of imagery and language; a magical distillation of the Balkans as we’ve never seen them before – a world that has hitherto remained largely concealed, despite being part and parcel of our European heritage. We join the mourners at a funeral service, fish with trawlermen whose nets remain empty, and listen to a boy as he introduces his extended family: »We do things our own way out here, and we don’t all sing the same tune, but together we add up to a right türlu gjuvetsch, a spicy stew just like my mother’s.«