The exhibition "African Faces" with photographs by renowned Macedonian photographer Biljana Jurukovski, which will present several works created during her travels in Africa. It will be opened on June 16 (Wednesday) at the Museum of the Republic of Northern Macedonia. Of particular interest are the portraits of the Suri people, one of the most isolated communities living in southwestern Ethiopia.

"My curiosity about Africa started in the mid-2013s, when I saw a photograph of a child in a camp in South Sudan, but the key moment for me to start photographing some of the most isolated tribes in Africa was in XNUMX." when the book by world-famous photographer Jimmy Nelson came into my hands. I still remember the photo, which seems to me to have completely changed my life, it was a photo of a man from the Mursi tribe, who had an ornament of the horns of a wild animal on his head, had face paint, two children standing next to him, and in his arms he was holding a Kalashnikov rifle. That photo opened me up to a million questions: where are these people, do they still exist, in what parts of Africa do they live?… Then begins my fascination with the various isolated peoples living not only in Africa but in other parts of the world. Then I decided to pursue photography, dedicated exclusively to people living in isolation from the world. For the first time in Africa, I came across people whom the modern world has not touched at all, except for weapons. In my photographs, especially the portraits of the Suri tribe living in southwestern Ethiopia, I show a different Africa, not one of misery, poverty and great exodus, I want to show the fascinating beauty and creativity of these people, their artistic abilities. Modern civilization has not reached them and it is worth seeing their cohesion with nature - says the photographer Biljana Yurukovski for the Morning Briefing.

By the way, she lives and works in Sydney, Australia and this is her first exhibition with us. In 2020, she was selected by the Foundation of World Photographer Jimmy Nelson to participate in his project to document and explore endangered indigenous cultures. Her photographs have been published in specialized magazines such as National Geographic, The Guardian, Lens Magazine, Silvershotz, La Fotografia, ArtAscent, Wotisart and others.