No One Sings Like my Brother
participative photo series with Bojan Stijović,dimensions variable, 2021
presented at Ured za fotografiju, Zagreb,
as part of the exhibition Periferne povijesti
This series is a collection of works in photographic and printmaking medium, that deal with the relationship between me and my brother. It started from two drawings, sent during my younger brother’s prison sentence. It was one etching based on an old childhood photo that I sent to him and the pen drawing of his prison cell sent back to me. Those early works started off when communication wasn’t possible, so we searched for different channels, be it prints, phone call drawings, dreams, or letters never sent.
The series kicked off in the fall of 2020 when he finished the sentence. In lack of institutional support, we were looking for activities that would reheal our bond, and open new horizons of possibility in a hostile retributive environment.
Surfacing gentle methods that would include my brother as a collaborator, formed work that didn’t feel like work but rather bonding sessions. As a result, my brother found a new passion for photography, which he didn’t know he had before.
At its core, the series strives to create safe experimental spaces for exploring suppressed parts of identity, which are remote from daily reality and allow the exploration of shared memories, dreams, differences, and stargazing under the anxiety of future uncertainty.
