Shane Lavalette

I finally received my signed copy of Andrew Miksys‘ beautiful book of photographs about the the Roma (Gypsy) people in Lithuania. The book, titled BAXT (a Roma word meaning “luck, fate, destiny, karma”), consists of images that Miksys had been making for seven years, beginning in 1998 with the help of a Fulbright grant.

In the book, there is an essay by poet and NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu that considers the images in the context of the present, “post-Soviet world.” In one part Codrescu writes,

If Andrew were merely an ambitious photographer, he could have chosen to jam his images with enough information to keep busy any number of spectators. As it is, viewers both familiar and unfamiliar with history, Soviet history, Lithuania, Romas, or Lithuanian Roma can expand a great deal of useful exegetic energy looking into these pictures. But Andrew is not merely ambitious, he’s great. I say this fully aware of how difficult it is to make such a freighted judgment. His greatness lies, I believe, in the extraordinary swiftness with which he establishes a relationship with his subjects, a relationship that is unfailingly empathetic.

Codrescu is right. Though I know little about the Lithuanian Roma, I’m still very moved by these photographs.

Standing in the Snow, Lithuania, 2005 (from “BAXT”)
© Andrew Miksys

House 22, Lithuania, 2004 (from “BAXT”)
© Andrew Miksys

The Phone, Lithuania, 2004 (from “BAXT”)
© Andrew Miksys

Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of his book. Signed copies are available here or directly through Andrew’s website.