Lea Greub

From the project 'No Georgian Dream' by Lea Greub

Biography

Lea Greub is a photojournalist living and working in Berlin. During her studies in design at FH Münster, she learned to work multimedia, combining text, image, and  auditory media. Subsequently, she completed a six-month internship at Ostkreuz Agency in Berlin, gaining insights into the world of photojournalism. In 2021, during her internship, she began working on her own projects. Thematically, she focuses on socio-political, queer-feminist issues, and European politics. Since she previously studied Media Design, she now wants to concentrate on photography, she has been studying at the Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin since March 2024.

The project

"In my photo project 'No Georgian Dream', I dealt with the political situation in Georgia. The focus is on the young generation, which is in conflict with the government and the conservative values in which the country seems to have been stuck since the USSR.

The country lies somewhere between the worlds of Asia-Europe and Russia-EU. Although Georgia has applied for EU membership, the pro-Russian, autocratic government is blocking the progress of this process and diminishing the chance of becoming part of the European Union, despite the fact that the majority of Georgians are in favor of joining the EU. There is little opposition from the older generations. Perhaps their mentality is too affected by the trauma of the Soviet Union, where it was difficult to dream of a better future, and the political elites could not be influenced.

But this is difficult for the young generation to accept. They have hope for a future in the EU, from which they expect an economic upswing, better educational opportunities, and a reduction in social injustice and discrimination. Young Georgians can no longer identify with the conservative values from the past. Especially for artists, activists, and people who do not fit into the traditional system, a promising future perspective seems to be disappearing into thin air. I took portraits of these young people and asked them about their ideas for the future. With the help of still lifes, architectural, and landscape photographs, I depict the current reality of life in Georgia."