Landelijke veerkracht: Fotografische representaties van veerkracht in de kleinste dorpen van Hongarije

In the smallest villages of Hungary, communities are adapting in the face of socio-economic change. This artistic research seeks to understand how resourcefulness and resilience are performed, negotiated, and represented in everyday rural life, and how these practices are shaped by the wider socio-political and economic landscape. It combines theoretical inquiry and photographic fieldwork conducted in settlements of less than one hundred inhabitants. Grounded in the phenomenological concept of 'lifeworld', the study examines the rural experience through three interrelated lenses: the elements of contemporary rural identity in Eastern Europe, the manifestation of practical ingenuity in everyday life, and the capacity of documentary photography to capture these circumstances. Employing slow, observational photography with walking as an artistic practice, interviews, cultural probes and media experiments, this research is a theoretically informed, reflective visual examination of rural conditions in Hungary. Through sustained engagement and critical interpretation, the resulting artistic projects and the masterwork Falu represent the visible markers of rural life: the lived experiences and the felt realities. The dissertation complements the artistic masterwork, aiming to stimulate discourse and contribute new insights into the complex and often overlooked world of rural resourcefulness in Eastern Europe. Keywords: documentary photography, resourcefulness, everyday problem-solving, ingenuity, survival strategies, Eastern Europe, Hungary, village, rural