portfolio
Skopje with eyes wide open
There exists a fairly well–known Skopje. Skopje the capital of Macedonia. Skopje on postcards, in monographs and guidebooks. Vast plans, identifiable objects, typical landmarks. Scenic views from above the Kale Fortress or Mount Vodno, the 13th November Quay or the Macedonia Street, the Old Bazaar, the Old Train Station… Yet, in contrast to the known city, there always exists that other city, invisible to the superficial visitor or resident. This is the Skopje that appears as a kind of a twin to the first Skopje. The Skopje that needs to be discovered, to be searched for.
This photo–essay is an attempt to capture the places of transformation, the points where the city becomes a space covered with written personal messages. This personal Skopje is not found in any of the officially dedicated monographs of the city, or in the guidebooks advertising its landmarks. This is Skopje built entirely out of moments, showing through the people living in it, people who portray the city with their very own facial expressions. These photographs offer human dramas which set against the specific urban landscape complement and enrich the city. Furthermore, these photographs show that the city is primarily a personal story, that there are as many versions of the city as there are walkers, residents and tourists, as many stories as there are people ready to see and do something more.
Krakow
One legend says that King Krak, in joint effort with a sly cobbler Skuba, who had killed the dragon of Wawel, founded Krakow. In June 2007 Krakow celebrated the Jubilee of the 750th Anniversary of granting with city charter. Once a capital, today this city with its rich history has become one of the trendiest cities in Europe and a “cultural capital” of Poland, successfully merging tradition with modernity. The Royal Castle, the Kazimierz district, Nowa Huta, the Old Market Square, Kanonicza Street, The Planty, Podgórze and the many monasteries around town are just some of the attractions of Krakow giving the city its recognizable flair.
The following photographs do not represent a comprehensive photo essay about Krakow. They are more like “free writing”, intuitively taken images around town by a street walker mesmerized by the city and its inhabitants, trying to make sense of the first impression.
Macedonia dreaming
A documentary photo–essay creating an intimate portrait of a country and its people, outside of the stereotypical image of a society at a crossroad, stuck in a transitional period not leading anywhere, and wider than the picture formed by the media of an everyday life burdened by coruption scandals and political games. Made over a period of two years the essay documents a country approaching its 15th anniversary of independence.
Sparks
Tetovo, a city in western Macedonia, is a multiethnic community, which as a result of the Macedonian war conflict in 2001, has become a divided city. An invisible wall divides every segment of life in the city, the educational system being no exception. In such environment, a group of psychologists have started a project under the name of Safe School in Community Under Risk whose goal is to return the feeling of security and safety among children, as well as, to provide a healthy environment where students can feel that they belong, where they can acknowledge their differences, where they can feel important and where their creativity is stimulated.
The photo essay is presenting the story of this project and the children participating.
Friends (portraits)
Series of photographs of personal friends made over the last 10 years created in various contexts and situations, put together in order to create a map of one of the most intimate categories — friendship tracing the identities of the photographed, as well as the photographer.
Between the Light and the Shadows
Skopje Fashion Week, 2002 – 2005. But the inspiration is not in the latest fashion styles, but rather in the visual energy of the fashion event and its backstage, in the sensation to be among the audience and the idea to portray the participants in their intimate moments of preparation, concentration, euphoria and boredom, the mixture of emotions prior to and after the performance.
These photographs are an effort to isolate the event from its spatial and temporal context and to photograph a fashion show in a different manner. It is a documentary photo essay trying to catch a sensation existing under the surface.
Montenegro
Portfolio of photographs created alongside 6 other photographers for a project titled Montenegro Adventures. The purpose of the project was to assemble seven photographers from the region and throughout Europe, who would make a sequence of photographs of Montenegro, traveling from south to the north of the country capturing various aspects of life in Montenegro for promotional purposes to the Centre for Sustainable Tourism Initiatives.
