Photography – Cleveland

I was born in Pfullendorf, Germany in April of 1994. The only child of two refugees from the Yugoslavian War, I grew up seeing both the beauty that life bore and the chaos that it could bring. I immigrated with my parents to America when I was four. We settled in Cleveland, Ohio: a city I lovingly refer to as my home away from home. I grew up introverted. I spent the majority of my childhood as a reserved girl, who would much rather write, draw, and daydream than interact with others. I was most comfortable in my own mind, utilizing my imagination to create worlds and fantastical scenarios that I would use to inspire me in my pursuit of creating art and literature. As the years passed, I never lost that sense of wonder. The creative arts have always called out to me, in all mediums. I got my start in photography as a model for my photographer friends. It wasn’t long before I realized my fascination with the art didn’t lie in front of the camera, but behind the lens. In 2015, I was gifted my first professional grade camera and the rest is history. I began taking pictures of the mundane, everyday things that we are accustomed to but eventually I started looking through the lens in a more obscure way. I longed to create art from the things that I saw and in turn, change the way they are seen. I began experimenting more with my images until my photography progressed into the realm of portraiture, which is currently my primary focus. I have an admitted love affair with the dark arts. I enjoy conceptual portraiture, emotive scenes, and macabre concepts. To me, photography is about more than just a pretty picture. Like all successful art, I want my photos to force the viewer to feel something; to be moved by what they are seeing, regardless if it is in a positive or negative light.