"Let there be Light" Photograph

Gabriela PETRESCU is a Romanian film and theatre director with a passion for photography, whose work explores the fragile relationship between memory, time, and nature. Working primarily with Polaroid photography, she is drawn to the unique imperfections and unrepeatable character of instant film, where every image becomes a singular object rather than a reproducible photograph.
Living in the Romanian countryside, she finds inspiration in wild flowers, changing seasons, quiet landscapes, and everyday moments that often pass unnoticed. Her artistic practice combines observation with patience, celebrating authenticity instead of digital perfection.
Alongside her photographic work, she experiments with botanical preservation, dried flowers, and handcrafted resin objects, creating a dialogue between photography and natural materials. These interests reflect her fascination with preserving moments that would otherwise disappear.
Her images invite viewers to slow down and reconnect with the beauty found in ordinary life, offering a sense of calm, nostalgia, and emotional presencePhotography allows me to preserve moments that cannot exist twice. I work with Polaroid film because every photograph carries its own imperfections, textures, and history. Unlike digital images, each piece is an original object, shaped by light, time, and chance.
Nature is my greatest source of inspiration. Flowers, gardens, changing weather, and quiet rural landscapes remind me that beauty is often found in simple moments. My work is less about documenting reality and more about preserving the emotions attached to it.
I believe that art should create space for stillness. Through my photographs, I hope viewers will pause, breathe, and rediscover the poetry hidden in everyday life.