Photo and word: Marina Nikolic

WEAST puts some questions to this designer and artist, whose artistic odyssey started in the small town of Valjevo in Serbia where she grew up. She went on to study Italian literature in Belgrade, then communication design in Florence and photography in Munich. Now she works as an art director, artist and photographer. As she says in her own words, “ My work is about people and emotions, with a little bit of added tension.”

You come from the small town of Valjevo in Serbia and studied in Florence and Munich. Did these jumps from these cities pose a difficulty?

Valjevo is one small town that has its own special soul in which I enjoyed my childhood. I'm very proud of that place. My first move was Belgrade, where I studied Italian language and literature that later led me to Florence where I studied visual communication. Living in one of the most fascinating cities in the world filled with art, gave me a desire for photography and a great interest in Italian cinema. To me all these were natural jumps, in which I followed my intuition and desire for creative knowledge. Munich is the northernmost city of Italy (so they say it here) so the change did not affect me. The Academy where I studied photography was for me the most beautiful place in the city.

Where is home?

Home is a place where I feel comfortable. My first home is the place where I was born and it will always be, but I must say that Belgrade, Florence and Munich I consider my home as well.

How did the Italian faculty influence your work and what about your time in Germany?

The College of Italy was like an army. Everyday full time lectures, oral exams, you had to follow the lectures on a regular basis so that you could even go to the exam. Enough espresso and humour all contributed to this period being magical. Art Academy in Munich was a totally opposite experience, first I thought it was some kind of a hall. It turned out I had never known freedom like it! I was in the class of photography, but at the same time I was free to draw, make collages and experiment a bit with film. Through philosophical lectures and conversations with my then class assistant, Michael Hofstetter, I learned to observe things in other ways. It's incredible comparing experiences in studies in these two cities, it sounds paradoxical.

Today you are working as an art director, photographer and care deeply about painting, how do you unite all these influences?

For me, these different disciplines have all come naturally to me. One was complimenting the other, and  my process of study and work is the same in each case. They can each be closely related and my approach to them can be a very creative experiment.

What do you prefer to do?

I always like to focus on the project I'm working on at the moment. I am fully committed and even have an obsession with the current task.

Your favourite project so far?

Every project teaches me something new and every experience is a good experience. My favourite project is when I get total freedom to realize something in my own way. I have my own art which is always 100% a caption of a particular moment in my life.

How important are your tools?

Without tools there is no craft, but I don't see the tool as something I put in first place in the professions I deal with. I grew up playing in nature, using my own grease and making objects from sticks and canopies.

For me personally, I do not care about the camera, I photograph until I can transfer the emotion and the message to others. Also, when I draw, I use different pens, and colors without a mark. Generally in Germany, if you come up with a smaller camera without assistance and full equipment, they look like a miracle. I try not to be burdened by these tools and continue to work in my own way.

What drives you? And where do you take strength from?

Curiosity is what drives me. There is strength in creativity, I work from instinct, and the emotions in my work give me inspiration. I have found that I take this inspiration into everyday life.