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Control Refresh
book - exhibition
Alternatively referred to as Control+R and C-r, Ctrl+R is a keyboard shortcut most often used to refresh the page in an Internet browser. 

Toma Gerzha - Control Refresh,
The Eriskay Connection (2024)
Control Refresh is the result of my research into the impact of political events on young people within a number of post-Soviet countries. Over the past three years I visited teenagers in remote cities in Russia and Eastern Europe. I made an extensive collection of photos of youngsters who shared their vulnerability with me, who joined me in their boredom and who told me about their dreams. The lives of these young people are strongly influenced by traditions, social media and politics.

In 2021, I made my first major photography trip across Russia. I contacted teenagers in small towns through social media and spent days (and sometimes weeks) with them. I documented their lives and surroundings with my camera. Took notes and wrote down their stories. My project was interrupted by the Russian invasion in Ukraine in 2022. I decided to include the change within my research and continued to visit my protagonists regularly.

Travelling and making images in a country like Russia became increasingly difficult, each time I didn't know if I would be able to return to the Netherlands again, as the country was closing itself off more and more from the rest of the world.

By the end of 2023, I had built up a collection of stories of youngsters in Eastern Europe, recording how their lives and choices are affected by political decisions in their countries. Without realising it, I created a time document of my own. In it, I record how a free country closes itself off from the world within a short time and how its inhabitants try to adapt to the changes.
Awards & nominations
2024
Shortlist, Paris Photo-Aperture First Photobook Award
Winner, Paris Photo: Carte Blanche Etudiants
Nominee, Redkollegia Award (May)

2023
Finalist, Castelfiorentino Prize for the Arts
Juror’s Pick, OD Photo Prize
Finalist, Paris Photo: Carte Blanche Etudiants
Winner, Fotografia Calabria Award
Finalist, Encontros da Imagem: Discovery Awards
Winner, Rotterdam Photo Festival: Best Exhibition Award
Finalist, TPF: Social Documentary Photography Awards
Partial Tuition Merit Scholarship, Chico Review
Exhibitions & festivals
2024
CARTE BLANCHE ETUDIANTS, Paris Photo, Paris, FR
MUTANTX, Biennale de l’Image Possible, Liège, BE

2023
HEAD ON PHOTO FESTIVAL, Delmar Gallery, Sydney, AU
CASTELFIORENTINO PRIZE, Teatro del Popolo, Castelfiorentino, IT
OD PHOTO PRIZE, Photobook Café, London, UK
EI: DISCOVERY AWARDS, Encontros da Imagem, Braga, PT
TPF: SOCIAL DOC. PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, Photobook Café, London, UK
CTRL+R, Rotterdam Photo, Rotterdam, NL

2022
NAMELESS PEOPLE, NAMELESS COUNTRY, C-LAB, Amsterdam, NL

De Volkskrant, Arno Haijtema, Russische gen Z’ers vieren het leven, al dringt de oorlog zich aan alle kanten op
Invitation to the book launch at Foam Museum of Photography in Amsterdam
Printing process at
Wilco Art Books in Amersfoort
Nameless People, Nameless country,
C-LAB, Amsterdam
(solo exhibition, 2022)

Fairs
2024
TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR, Tokyo, JP
DRUK, Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL
PARIS PHOTO: PHOTOBOOK FAIR, Paris, FR
POLYCOPIES, Paris, FR
BREDAPHOTO FESTIVAL: BOOKSHOP, Breda, NL
ANTWERP ACADEMY ART BOOK FAIR, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, BE
UNSEEN: PHOTOBOOK FAIR, Amsterdam, NL

2023
FORMAT23: THE PERFORMING PHOTOBOOK, Derby Museum on The Wardwick, Derby, UK

Lectures
2024
Artist Talk about ‘Control Refresh’ for FOTODOK, Utrecht, NLArtist Talk about ‘Control Refresh’ and ‘.ru’ for Paris Photo, FR
2023
Artist Talk about ‘ctrl+r’ project for Rotterdam Photo Festival, NL

Photography + text: Toma Gerzha
Text editing: Sophie Macleod
Design: Rob van Hoesel
Lithography: Marc Gijzen
Print + binding: Wilco Art Books

Publisher: The Eriskay Connection
www.eriskayconnection.com

Distribution: Idea Books
www.ideabooks.nl

Edition: 1.200
ISBN: 978-94-93363-04-5

Supported by Jaap Harten Fonds and Het Cultuurfonds.