The Lithuania Project

Bokštas 25
Paul Walsh

System of Absurdity
Barry Falk

Divided Lives
Heather Shuker

Middle Europe
Mitch Karunaratne

Babochka
Jonty Tacon & Laurie Griffiths

Europe - seems a simple term of phrase. Dig a bit deeper and you're reminded it is at once, a geographical term, a political vision, a union of states, a cultural place and a single currency zone. With countless variations, this politically contested; shifting concept is one of the most rapidly changing territories on the planet.

It's been 60 years since the publication of Cartier Bresson's The Europeans, a seminal body of work that continues to shape the photographic world. Todays Europe however seems even more in flux - more mythical, more diverse and more complex. Since that work was made – a further 24 countries have joined the European Union family, and a single currency has been born.

With this in mind MAP6 journeyed to the country that currently holds the very centre of Europe, as defined by the French National Geographic Institute, to meet some of the newest Europeans. Once one of the satellites of the USSR, Lithuania is a young republic caught in the process of recovering from 50 years of soviet occupation. Over 6 days 6 photographers set out to explore its transformation from communism to capitalism, and how it copes with its newfound Eurozone identity.