The Of Stone and Steel. A Voyage into the World of Urbex photography exhibition of Her Royal Highness Princess Sofia of Romania opened at the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) in Bucharest this week and will also travel to ICR London later this fall.

The exhibition, put together by HRH Princess Sofia in collaboration with Jean Milligan and Irina Andreea Cristea, features over 20 photographic panels depicting a fascinating foray into forsaken buildings all over Romania.

Princess Sofia and her team chose to immortalize specific places from different parts of the country, especially factories in the Brașov area, in Transylvania, for their industrial significance, as well as prestigious houses and small dwellings, for their cultural and traditional value in the northern region of Maramureș, ICR said. The team also included mines of particular interest in the same area.

"Promoting these places through this exhibition and the accompanying book reflects the importance of the cultural and historical value for the future and hopefully prevents them from falling into oblivion. As my father, King Michael, said: 'We cannot have a future without respecting our past'," HRH Princess Sofia said at the exhibition's opening.

The photography exhibition can be visited until September 28 at the Great Hall of the Romanian Cultural Institute (38 Aleea Alexandru). Entry is free.

Then, between October 29 and November 15, the exhibition will be presented in the "Constantin Brâncuși" Gallery of the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.

HRH Princess Sofia, the fourth daughter of King Michael, has been passionate about telling stories through art since childhood. According to ICR, her father's personal photographs, notably the ones he took as a young man of the Carpathian Mountains, inspired her at a very young age to pick up a camera.

Today, she is an internationally recognized photographer, having exhibited her work throughout Europe and beyond. She is the recipient of the Kotinos International Award for Excellence in Photography Art 2018, given in collaboration with the Philanthropy International Organisation and the Saned International Organisation.

Princess Sofia complements her royal mission with her professional activity as a photographer. To this end, she created a long-term umbrella project called Romania, a Celebration, which covers various subjects by capturing and documenting the country's diverse cultures, history, environment, and way of life and by creating visual journeys through Romania that offer insights into facets of the country rarely seen, both in Romania and abroad.

The exhibition Of Stone and Steel. A Voyage into the World of Urbex is the fourth chapter of Romania, a Celebration. 

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Icr.ro; by Daniel Angelescu)