When I was about 7 years old, I came together with my parents and sister to visit my mother's friend who works and lives in the botanical garden in Cluj. We were amazed by the diversity of plants and astonished by the natural beauty that surrounded us. I remember taking a family portrait in the lotus greenhouse, the four of us. I also remember my parents smuggled some leaves trying to multiply them at home, completely illegal, but it describes their eternal love to plants. I was raised to share their passion. Sometimes people ask me how come I know so many things about plants? Well, the answer is always my family. If my parents love plants, on the other hand my grandmother loves flowers and my grandfather, pigs. 

On October 14 2017, together with my family, we toured the exhibition that took place at the Botanical Garden in Cluj, one of the most beautiful locations in the city, probably the most appropriate spaces to show my ongoing project Today I am Home.

Today I am Home, Roxi Pop, Botanical Garden, In/Out Transylvania Photo Festival 2017, Cluj, Romania 

Photo @Sz Fele

Photo @Sz Fele

Photo @Sz Fele

Photo @Sz Fele

1. After 12 days since the Romanian Government passed a decree that decriminalized corruption - Romanians still protest on the streets across the country. These are the biggest and most significant protests that my country had since 1989 - the fall of communism regime. It took me some days to take the anger and frustration out, but after several days of protest, I found my own way of expressing my point of view as a photographer and human being over the protest that happen in  Cluj, the second biggest city in Romania, the place I live. So it started the series - Portret de protest with the intention of taking people out of the crowd in order to really show them, the individual. Like this,  I get to meet the people who gather each night in the Union Square in Cluj, their stories become personal, and my photographs are also a gift to them and appreciation to their resilience.