On the 4th of May 1980, a nation was watching a football match between a Croatian team and a Serbian team. It was suddenly interrupted to announce the death of President Tito. I was 8 years old. The first thing I asked my parents was: "Will there be war?". This was the beginning of the end.
A decade later, I took a train to Germany to catch a flight to the USA to study photography. Our airport was closed due to the fear of landmines. The war had begun, and would later spread and grow and destroy. I never imagined leaving my home country would coincide with this enormous change. New borders were drawn, new passports issued, new fighting ensued.
I was born in Yugoslavia and this is a record of my journey. My series "Who are you?" explores how my identity has been shaped by growing up in a country which no longer exists. Each photograph represents a pivotal moment of my childhood.
Some photographs feature the crochet doilies my mother made before she started to lose her sight. They serve as a connection between us - she wanted to pass on some of her cultural heritage to me. The crochet, resembling a map, represents the homeland, an imaginary place of (be)longing.