honorable mention
Jan Janssen netherlands
Photo © Jan Janssen
title
New year's ritual
when everything comes together. Those moments tell my story.
Over the years I have developed my own strong style. Powerful images that radiate passion, with room for your own story as a viewer."
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entry description
In the photo series, "New year's ritual", Jan Janssen photographs the New Year's Eve tradition of the bear dance in the Romanian cities of Asău and Dărmănești. Every year, on December 30-31, many inhabitants of Romania come together to symbolically initiate the new year. The tradition surrounding the bear dance is rooted in the culture of the Geto-Dacians, the ancestors of present-day Romania who lived over a thousand years ago. To them, the bear was a sacred animal with healing powers, which is reflected in their many legends surrounding the bear. Even in the twenty-first century, most inhabitants own their own bearskin, in spite of them being costly possessions that are only used once a year. Despite the global Western commercialisation of the New Year celebration, the local communities of Romania prefer to celebrate this very ancient tradition in large numbers every year, by donning the skins of a thousand ancestors. It testifies to a community full of love, bound by tradition and the legacy of age-old legends.about the photographer
"As a true sentimentalist, I express my feelings through my images. I am inspired by genuine interest in my fellow human beings. Through perseverance and drive I create my best work as a photographer. As an artist I am always looking for that one perfect momentwhen everything comes together. Those moments tell my story.
Over the years I have developed my own strong style. Powerful images that radiate passion, with room for your own story as a viewer."
back to gallery
