REMEMBER SAREJEVO

In June 2016, I visited Sarajevo. I was not prepared for the devastation that I saw, which still remains to this day from the Bosnia Herzegovina war. After 25 years the destruction is still prominent everywhere. Monuments of suffering and loss, unspeakable horrors and human sacrifice surrounded me. At times I was utterly overwhelmed and deeply saddened. Surprisingly, amidst the visible horrors of past actions, everywhere I went, I discovered both men and women beautifully groomed and dressed in the latest fashions. To me, it became the resilience of the human spirit, that essence of good that can take tragedy and refurbish it into something beautiful. 

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I decided to use the violent patterns of devastation left by the war and recreate them stylistically through make-up, to fashion garments and accessories. In this book, I wanted to reconstruct the devastation into something meaningful as a way to pay homage to the people of Sarajevo that has so deeply touched me. It is ironic that when you go to Sarajevo, what you experience is LIFE. This is my tribute to Sarajevo and its people. 

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This body of work has received international recognition and garnered 2 awards: Loerie Craft Gold Photography Award and the One Eyeland Top 10 Fine Art Photography Book category winner.

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