Lori Polena (Albania)
Without title 2008.

Ndermora edhe une kete pelegrinazh te gjate te ngjitjes se malit te Shena Noit. U nisa me misionin tim si fotografe e kersherine per te pare me tutje. Ishin me qindra njerezit qe rrugetuan bashke me mua, njerez te fe e te pafe, kush kembezbathur, kush me femijen e semure ne krahe; nuk mungonin as pleqte, te cilet i jepni force e kurajo vetes per te arritur deri te rruga e dymbedhjete, ku me ne fund do te ndalonin per te prekur statujen e Shena Noit me femijen ne dore e per te marre bekimin e tij. Pa e kuptuar u bere pjese e kesaj turme, duke provuar shijen e te gjitha atyre ritualeve. Kjo turme e madhe i perngjante nje mekanizmi perfekt ne llojin e vet. Ky mekanizem i koordinuar kishte nje misionin te qarte ne vetvete, dhe nese ishe i ri ne kete rrugetim mjaftonte thjesht te ndiqje personin perpara teje. Ishte maja e kesaj kodre pika ku keta njerez shpresonin qe te shkarkonin te gjitha vuajtjet e peshen e tyre, per tu rikthyer me pas ne realitetin e jetes, nje realitet aspak i lehte, por te pakten per nje cast te vetem, tek ajo koder, kete peshe ata ia kishin kaluar nje Shenjti.

I undertook, also, this pilgrimage towards the Shena Noi’s hill top. I started my mission as a photographer with the curiosity to look beyond. They were hundreds of them who strolled along the way with me, religious and laic people, some of them barefoot, some of them carrying their sick children; even the old people didn’t miss it, giving themselves courage to reach the 12 toll road, where, finally, they would stop to touch the Shena Noi’s statue and get his benediction. Without understanding it, I became part of this crowd, tasting the flavor of their rituals. This huge crowd looked like a perfect mechanism, which had a clear mission in itself, and if you were new in this, you had just to follow the person ahead of you. It was at the top of this hill, where this people left behind all their pain and worries, to return back to the life reality, not at all easy, but, at least, for a single moment, on that hill, this pain was passed on Shena Noi.