Renowned French Photographer Will Present Work about the Lost Russian Library of the Solovki Islands

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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (Sept. 21, 2015) – French photographer Jean-Luc Bertini will present his photographic work during the lecture, “The Story of a Lost Library in the Soviet Gulag,” at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in Draper Academic Building Room 152.
Bertini’s photo series, “Solovki,” was inspired by the Solovki islands, the site of the first labor camp started by Russian revolutionaries in 1923. Throughout the early years of Solovki, some forms of cultural life were still allowed. Contributions from artists, intellectuals and scientists slowly evolved into a library. Sadly, as prison conditions worsened and the camp was closed down, the library disappeared.
On Thursday, Bertini will talk about his trip to the “Lost Library” and his visit to the camp. His series of photographs capture a cold, silent landscape that bears traces of its severe past, relatively untouched by time.
“Solovki became a laboratory and a model for future Stalinist gulags, and later one of the first Russian sites on the UNESCO list of world heritage,” said Alex Thiltges, Ph.D., senior lecturer in French at Baylor.
“Jean-Luc is a renowned photographer based in Paris, France, and it is an honor to see him on Baylor’s campus,” Thiltges said.
This event is free and open to the public. Draper Academic Building is located at 1420 S. Seventh St., between Tidwell Bible Building and Pat Neff Hall on Baylor’s campus.
For more information, contact Alex Thiltges
by Bethany Harper , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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