images by Andrea Palasti from The minority 

The project The minority is a series of photographs that showcase the celebrities of the ’Hungarian national minority in Vojvodina’. The title The minority has the intention to allude to the term ’minority’ as a political and/or social construct, and to play around with the idea of how, and whether national identity can be reduced to a mere visual and/or a word. The series of photographs is an anthropological study, which notes a humorous way of the ’privileged’ public figures in the field of the popular ’minority’ culture. The idea to make pictures of the celebrities is brought into relation with the aesthetics and the concept of elite or vip, whose representatives occupy the absolute first place in the media culture. In some way, they represent us, and based on them, many people form their ideas about class, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, about ‘us’ and ‘them’. Therefore, theatrically posed, but catching the off set gestures, the photographed models are a mixture of direct information’s and enigmas about what they ’really’ are. Mapping the holders of success of a ’minority community’, the series of photographs, in fact, aims to contextualize/re-contextualise/de-contextualise the phenomena related to the ’minority discourse’, and to rethink the relationship between aesthetics and ethics, nationalism and globalism, ’minority’ and ’majority’, the arts and the political and/or social circumstances.

Andrea Palasti (b. 1984) is a Serbian photographer. She finished BA and MA studies at Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad. She is currently preparing PhD thesis at the University of Arts in Belgrade. 

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images by Andrea Palasti from The minority 

The project The minority is a series of photographs that showcase the celebrities of the ’Hungarian national minority in Vojvodina’. The title The minority has the intention to allude to the term ’minority’ as a political and/or social construct, and to play around with the idea of how, and whether national identity can be reduced to a mere visual and/or a word. The series of photographs is an anthropological study, which notes a humorous way of the ’privileged’ public figures in the field of the popular ’minority’ culture. The idea to make pictures of the celebrities is brought into relation with the aesthetics and the concept of elite or vip, whose representatives occupy the absolute first place in the media culture. In some way, they represent us, and based on them, many people form their ideas about class, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, about ‘us’ and ‘them’. Therefore, theatrically posed, but catching the off set gestures, the photographed models are a mixture of direct information’s and enigmas about what they ’really’ are. Mapping the holders of success of a ’minority community’, the series of photographs, in fact, aims to contextualize/re-contextualise/de-contextualise the phenomena related to the ’minority discourse’, and to rethink the relationship between aesthetics and ethics, nationalism and globalism, ’minority’ and ’majority’, the arts and the political and/or social circumstances.

Andrea Palasti (b. 1984) is a Serbian photographer. She finished BA and MA studies at Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad. She is currently preparing PhD thesis at the University of Arts in Belgrade. 

Ena rola filma interview with Bogdan Radenković

Bogdan Radenković (b. 1989) is a Serbian photographer based in capital city of Belgrade. During NATO bombing of ex-Yugoslavia (1999) Bogdan’s family retreated to mountainous area of Stara planina. The untouched nature and mountain life was an inspiration for his most recognisable work, long term project Mountain memories.

Bogdan has a unique view on art and art world: as a very creative person he doesn’t want that anything would spoil his unique expression. I wanted to ask him some questions about his projects and creative process. So I sent him an email, although an email interview obviously cannot be compared to personal approach.

Aljaž: It looks like time is irrelevant in Diary project. How much would it change the mentioned project, if sequencing the photographs would be different?

Bogdan: Actually my initial exposition of that project was precisely chronological – precisely enumerated photo-a-day. Than one morning I realised that the time is completely irrelevant and unnecessary, or more closely it delivers nothing but useless numbers.

Aljaž: What is the role of Diary for you? Is it a kind of an exploration for feature series, or was most of it simply published in your Interpersonal book?

Bogran: I do not see my Diary as a project, it has completely subjective and non-suggestive approach to my life whilst the Interpersonal pretends to explore relationship in a more objective manner, on the other side it’s a first person story based on my experience.

Aljaž: When we speak of your photography it seems free of photographic influences. You really seem like an inquisitive photographer, absorbing everything around you. In what manner do you edit your series? Are you planning the story in advance or it just happens?

Bogdan: I always tend to have some rough plan, enough to guide me, not enough to rim my freedom. At first place I spend time contemplating about concept or emotion that will lead to the point.

Aljaž: How do you see your own work through viewer’s perspective? How and what do you want for viewer to think about? What drives you in showing your intimate moments with others?

Bogdan: It’s maybe a bit Ego-ish thing because I never think of viewer’s angle, it just ends on my interpretation – “I want you to interpret it like I did, to understand it like I do!” my mind says.

Aljaž: How do you see your Mountain memories series now after few years have past? It still seems, that it is your most influential work. In a way Mountain memories seem treated as a straight documentary project, while nowadays you are dealing with different, more personal, but still documentary approach.

Bogdan: It’s apparent that I had no idea what will I do with Mountain memories photos; I was just documenting and documenting for years. From this distance I understand it as a mixture of a true objectiveness soaked into my nostalgia.

Aljaž: And now the hardest question. Where do you see yourself and your work in the future? Tell us about your new publication Short stories.

Bogdan: Huh, last two years were years of consolidation and reorganisation, and now, I suppose, is time to think extensively and choose a new project from my hundred sketches to put my energy on. These days I will post more photos in the Diary, also my poetry as a section of the portfolio, also I plan to gather some productive people to form a band.

image © Bogdan Radenković from Diary 10/11 

Text by: Aljaž Celarc

Editing: Eva Pavlič Seifert 

Answers: Bogdan Radenković

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Ena rola filma interview with Bogdan Radenković

Bogdan Radenković (b. 1989) is a Serbian photographer based in capital city of Belgrade. During NATO bombing of ex-Yugoslavia (1999) Bogdan’s family retreated to mountainous area of Stara planina. The untouched nature and mountain life was an inspiration for his most recognisable work, long term project Mountain memories.

Bogdan has a unique view on art and art world: as a very creative person he doesn’t want that anything would spoil his unique expression. I wanted to ask him some questions about his projects and creative process. So I sent him an email, although an email interview obviously cannot be compared to personal approach.

Aljaž: It looks like time is irrelevant in Diary project. How much would it change the mentioned project, if sequencing the photographs would be different?

Bogdan: Actually my initial exposition of that project was precisely chronological – precisely enumerated photo-a-day. Than one morning I realised that the time is completely irrelevant and unnecessary, or more closely it delivers nothing but useless numbers.

Aljaž: What is the role of Diary for you? Is it a kind of an exploration for feature series, or was most of it simply published in your Interpersonal book?

Bogran: I do not see my Diary as a project, it has completely subjective and non-suggestive approach to my life whilst the Interpersonal pretends to explore relationship in a more objective manner, on the other side it’s a first person story based on my experience.

Aljaž: When we speak of your photography it seems free of photographic influences. You really seem like an inquisitive photographer, absorbing everything around you. In what manner do you edit your series? Are you planning the story in advance or it just happens?

Bogdan: I always tend to have some rough plan, enough to guide me, not enough to rim my freedom. At first place I spend time contemplating about concept or emotion that will lead to the point.

Aljaž: How do you see your own work through viewer’s perspective? How and what do you want for viewer to think about? What drives you in showing your intimate moments with others?

Bogdan: It’s maybe a bit Ego-ish thing because I never think of viewer’s angle, it just ends on my interpretation – “I want you to interpret it like I did, to understand it like I do!” my mind says.

Aljaž: How do you see your Mountain memories series now after few years have past? It still seems, that it is your most influential work. In a way Mountain memories seem treated as a straight documentary project, while nowadays you are dealing with different, more personal, but still documentary approach.

Bogdan: It’s apparent that I had no idea what will I do with Mountain memories photos; I was just documenting and documenting for years. From this distance I understand it as a mixture of a true objectiveness soaked into my nostalgia.

Aljaž: And now the hardest question. Where do you see yourself and your work in the future? Tell us about your new publication Short stories.

Bogdan: Huh, last two years were years of consolidation and reorganisation, and now, I suppose, is time to think extensively and choose a new project from my hundred sketches to put my energy on. These days I will post more photos in the Diary, also my poetry as a section of the portfolio, also I plan to gather some productive people to form a band.

image © Bogdan Radenković from Diary 10/11 

Text by: Aljaž Celarc

Editing: Eva Pavlič Seifert 

Answers: Bogdan Radenković