In the Italian town of Albenga, on the Cote d’Azur, during the Festival of Photography “S. GIORGIO & ALBENGA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY “on July 22 in 2014 was opened twenty-nine consecutive solo exhibition of photographs by Branislav Brkic, Master of Photography PAS and the holder of the highest international titles MFIAP,EFIAP/s, ESFIAP. For global audience he is well-known photographer, who is also president of the Photo Association of Serbia. He presents two collection of black and white photographs that depict a particular part of rural life in Serbia today. One is dedicated to the life of shepherds from the north to the south of Serbia, as the shepherd’s life (Shepherd life), and the second life of Roma musicians named village musicians (Village Musicians).
Brkic’s portraits pastor of Deliblatska sands in the north, the Pester plateau in the southwest of the Old mountains in the south, reflect the time since 2010. till today. Plains and mountain pastures once filled with flocks of cattle are now empty. Rapid industrialization in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century has taken its toll. Young went to the big cities and the countryside were left by their parents, who are now elderly. This social moment is the main theme of almost all Brkics photograph on handles for years creating his great opus documentary portrait.
On this exhibition he shows two parallel worlds. On one side of the hyper-serious face shepherds and their household members, and the other smiling faces of rural musicians, Roma, which their musical gift took away from working on the land. And while the life of one dying in others he just spews. While in the eyes of tired old men prevailing sadness, musicians toothless be happy and enjoy their music-packed passion. While with the shepherds in the foreground rule emphasizes the head of the house and in the back of his companion, the cattle and old photos on the wall, the point is at The Musicians emphasizes their collective adorned and always new people. Two opposing ways of life and the two cultures living in similar conditions, Brkic in the image without words displayed not only their differences, but also a special time seems to stand still. They live almost beyond the reach of the achievements of modern civilization. Therefore, the effect is timeless.
Brkic photographed shepherds in the plains of Vojvodina or pastures in the high mountains. There is also the occasional room where loneliness comes more to the fore. He record musicians while playing in his poor room, or yard.
With this photo collection Brkic is talking about people in the same space at the same time but having different ideas about life, and therefore destiny. Author is interested in just the social structure that does not have many options to change. And occupation of shepherds and musicians are transmitted from generation to generation. Their knowledge of survival are not taught in schools, but to teach them a life that takes place in full color, but from which penetrate the strong contrasts of black and white. Their constant state of to be or not to be, have and have not, just imposing form black-and-white photographs that and direct the author. Branislav Brkic speaks us about pastoral life and village musicians with the language of black and white photos managing to express all the power of a serious documentary content. His portraits are genre (or Lajf) portraits, because he represents those artists that their work deeply linked to the time in which they lives. Although the case of photographs that depict the present moment, it seems the author is back in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, in the age of black waves. And he actually intended to go to the far stick where time has stopped without allowing a greater influence of modern society.
Branislav Brkic builds his realism in photography with special poetry. He relies on the eyes of their stakeholders to express their deepest feelings. Despite seemingly cheerful spirit Roma, in their eyes he often finds sadness. He wants to show his anonymous models as individuals who have their own special character.
Both collections of Branislav Brkic’s photographs are actually one big ode to the life of individuals who struggle against alienation in rural areas. Although the people in his photographs may appear as victims of a new era, their vitality, tenacity, defiance and pride, which the author skillfully points out, assure just the opposite, that they are the people who will live through all the trouble, as they already do.
Branislav Brkic is one of the few authors that make his photos in high quality digigrafija, and he presents his photos this way in Albenga. His involvement in the festival of photography in Italy is a great contribution to Serbian photograph of which he is the most prominent representative.