About

“I’ve been following Zoran’s work for a decade, specifically since he returned to his first and greatest love: seeking the unseen layers of existence through the lens. Initially, it was about finding essence in textures, in the play of shadows, in reflections. Then came direct confrontations with the subject and the powerful nature. Next were portraits, which fall into the most challenging category of art.

 Here, Zoran shows his extensive knowledge of psychology, social relationships, and the position of individuals in modern contexts, revealing suppressed desires, fears, worries, and joys that define who we are. Relying on his sensitivity, intuition, and understanding of the deepest layers of the human psyche, Zoran captures in an instant all the dimensions that elude both the eye and intellect.

He doesn’t strip away the layers of appearance to reach the essence; rather, he approaches things multi-dimensionally, breaking down rigid perceptions of confined space. In a moment, he dissects a person down to a cellular level, melts emotional states, and like an alchemist, transforms them into black-and-white forms, arranging this newly discovered universe into a photographic format - forever changed, forever captured, forever brought to life.

Zoran is one of the few contemporary photographers who excels in analogue photography, which requires meditative patience, knowledge, and a degree of spirituality that he skilfully employs even in digital photography, when it serves as a better medium to capture the spark and trap it in the ordinary two-dimensional space. From an artistic perspective, in his analogue black-and-white photography, I sense the weight of an etched graphic plate right before printing, in his dissolved landscapes, I find the depth of Flemish painters with their muted palette, where you can hear the scream of colours before the light goes out; in digital photography, I feel the clarity and completeness of a poster’s form... in any case, always interesting, always different, slightly mystical but never a boring artist.”

Branka Turkić, PhD

Professor of Graphic Design and Visual Communications

From introversion in which I find the depth of myself to extroversion and the opening towards manifested and apparent form, I take the photographs as an silent observer of life. The process of creating is followed through my personal and deep contemplations.

Black and white photography is my passion. Whether I work in digital or analog format on 35mm film, I insist on pronounced grain and deep contrasts. This combination gives the photographs a unique look and conveys the energy of the present moment.

The only difference between the apparent outer and the infinite inner is in the size and color of the grain. In some sense the appearing, manifested universe is in contrast to the infinite, unmanifested universe.

The depth of contrast gives the drama of the moment because only in the contrasts of life we recognize ourselves while we only grow in the shadows of life.

Color photos are in digital format but with analog vintage lenses that give today’s modern digital perfection an authentic and vintage look.

This combination of techniques gives photographs a timeless dimension that leaves a meditative and contemplative note about them.

I use various cameras and lenses, but my favorite cameras are vintage film cameras. Why? Because they make me slow down and be one with the moment in my own silence.

Zoran Milisic