Press release

Buzău County Museum announces the opening of the temporary photographic art exhibition "People of the OMO Valley, Ethiopia", a project by artist Kiro Urdin. 

Kiro Urdin exhibits at the Buzău County Museum the series of photographs "People of the Omo Valley, Ethiopia" which is an exhibition of portraits of tribal populations of the river valley of the same name, and which recalls the differences in civilization at the level of the globe and the gap of ages between different peoples. The artist's desire is to capture the authenticity of human existence devoid of all the disturbing elements of a developed society which is increasingly taking over these untouched areas in the struggle for resources.

About OMO River

It is located in southern Ethiopia and is the largest river flowing through the country and the largest flowing water outside the Nile basin. The river ends at Lake Turkana (on the border with Kenya). Because the area is renowned for its important archaeological finds, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. More than 50,000 fossils have been discovered in the OMO River basin, including 230 hominid fossils dating back to the Pliocene and Pleistocene (these belong to the Australopithecus and Homo genera), as well as tools made from quartzite, the oldest of which date back some 2.4 million years. The first archaeological discoveries in the area were made in 1901 by a French expedition. The most significant discoveries were made between 1967 and 1975 by an international archaeological team. Now the jawbone of a male Australopithecus, estimated to be about 2.5 million years old, has been found. In addition to early hominid fossils, a diversity of mammal and fish fossils have been found in the Omo Valley. We can now understand why an artist like Kiro Urdin was drawn to this area and decided to capitalize on it through artistic photography.

About Kiro Urdin

Kiro Urdin, born in 1945, is a well-known North Macedonian artist who has distinguished himself through outstanding performances in painting, graphics, film, photography, poetry, choreography. This plurivalence, plus the late age at which he began this journey, at the age of 40, betrays his adventurous spirit. He has a very interesting life experience marked by many trips around the world. Kiro Urdin ends up working in countries like the USA, France, Japan and beyond. He is the creator of Planetarium which claimed the painting of the same name on an area of 48 square meters. This project was inspired during a two-year trip around the world which later led to a documentary and choreographic performances in collaboration with Debbie Wilson.  

Kiro Urdin studied art and cinematography in Paris during the eighth decade of the last century. His exhibitions since 1986 have been mounted in Paris, Yokohama, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, London, Stockholm and Bratislava. The film-making phase began in 1988 in the United States, when Kiro Urdin lived in New York and Hollywood, where he directed four films. As a publicist, the North Macedonian artist has published over 15 volumes. 

At Buzău County Museum the exhibition project was made possible with the help of Jane Teoharevski. 

The opening of the exhibition will take place on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at 11.00 am, at the Museum of Archaeology, History and Art Buzău (headquarters), Aleea Castanilor, nr. 1, 2nd Floor, Temporary Exhibition Hall.

Access is free! 

Buzau County Museum
Manager 
dr. Daniel Costache