ASFor your project ‘Memories of a beloved place’ you return to the area of Transylvania where you lived until the age of ten.
Can you explain a little about your relationship to this place and the wider politics of the changing population in this area?

MSWhen I was a child my world was a small village in the middle of Transylvania, where I grew up next to different kinds of people, speaking different languages, having different traditions and religions, and I learned naturally to appreciate cultural varieties. I belong to a German minority, the so called Transylvanian Saxons, and a Hungarian minority; both of which have been living next to Romanians and Gypsies in the same area for hundreds of years. This part of Romania belonged to Austria-Hungary until the end of the first world war. Since than the Romanian Government has tried to assimilate these populations but mainly without success.

I learned from this environment that community is very important, and looking back it was essential in order to protect our cultural identity.

ASDo you look for projects that resonate with your personal experience?

MSYes, I do look for projects that resonate with my experiences. Themes relating to traditional communities, immigration, the influence of globalisation and media on our relationships with each other, nature and animals and environmental projects. My experiences have definitely influenced me, I believe that the places we are attracted to are related to where we come from.

ASHow do you envisage the outcomes of your projects? Do you shot with a certain format in mind?

MSI mainly shoot on 6×6 medium format with a Rolleiflex and Hasselblad. I like these waist-level cameras, which do not cover my face when photographing. Also as film is expensive and photographs limited, I generally spend more time in composing and thinking about what I
see and working out what is worth photographing.

ASHow long do you spend in any one place? Do you make repeat visits?

MSI do normally stay 2 to 4 weeks and sometimes plan to repeat visits. Since 2008 I have been working on a longterm project about the ‘Caldarari’ a traditional community in Transylvania, which I visit once a year and stay a couple of days.

ASYour project about the Caldarari – ‘Between Yesterday and Tomorrow’ seems like a very natural progression from ‘Memories of a beloved place’, delving deeper into cultural traditions. Could
you tell us about this project?

MSThe project “Memories of a beloved Place” helped me to understand where I came from. It helped me also to rediscover the culture of the Caldarari, with whom we, the Transylvanian Saxons, not just lived side by side but also share a common history. Both minorities have
suffered dispossession, deportation and forced labour for several years in Russia after the second world war.

When I visited the Caldarari the first time in 2008, they were very welcoming and I was immediately impressed by their kindness and the pride reflected in their faces. Despite globalisation and the fact that their culture is not highly respected in Romanian society, they continue preserving their traditional values, something I admire and respect very much.

In todays globalised system, where people around the world generally aim for a western lifestyle, I feel people far too easily give up their unique identity and cultural values. These traditional Gypsies though do not mind being considered as being different, they proudly demonstrate where they belong – with their colourful dresses, huge hats and enormous houses – this is what fascinated me.

ASCould you tell us the story behind your image ‘The fiancées’?

MSThese young girls are Caldarari gypsies, who regularly become engaged and married while very young. They have grown up in the same community and are best friends. Evaʻs and Mariaʻs parents have already arranged the union to the sons of families from the same community, when both were very little.

The engagement ensures that the next generation remains in the Caldarari community. To confirm the deal thousands of pounds were paid to the boys families to ensure that their daughter will become their wives. If a boy decides to marry someone else then his family must pay back three times the dowry, this would financially cripple him and his family.

Once marriage arrangements are made it is very difficult for children to break the deal and choose another partner. Unfortunately both Eva and Maria have fallen in love with each others future husbands.

I met Maria and Eva again when I visited the community in April 2011. Although they live across the street, both are not allowed to talk to each other any more. The girls have swapped their former future husbands and have put their families in difficult situations. In order to force their families to break the engagement, Mariaʻs husband stole her, which means he took her virginity and so had to marry her. The families now owe a lot of money to each other, which has caused them to become enemies.