22.08.2015. Gevgelija, Macedonia (North Macedonia today). A refugee from Syria stares through barbed wire during a heavy downpour on no man's land between Greece and Macedonia. Thousands of refugees have been trapped for days and weeks in the open, exposed to extreme weather conditions, while waiting for a chance to continue their journey to Western Europe. ©Marko Risovic for the VII Mentor Program
marko-risovic-02-risovic-portfolio-1920
03.05.2009. Belgrade, Serbia. Dusan (cover name from the French Foreign Legion) walks his two dogs along the New Belgrade neighboorhood with his wife Danijela. He was just a regular youngster, a student of law and a free spirit. His urge for adventure, and sense of lack of perspective in developing Serbian society, led him to French Foreign Legion. He spent several years there, serving as professional soldier. When he came back home, he tried to reconnect with society, to tie broken strings and live like any normal citizen. His eccentric personality and complicated situation in Serbia, leading to inability of finding regular jobs, as well as his military past, made life very hard for him. Serbia had one of the highest rates of brain drain during 90's. Young people forced by instability, lack of jobs, bad educational system and political turmoil, massively left the country to search for better possibilities. They are doing different jobs abroad, from cooks and support workers to computer experts and engineers. Some of them now want to come back home, but they are still confronted with numerous problems. Dusko is an extreme example. His inner struggle is very strong. Every day of his life is full of choices he has to make in order to survive.
06.02.2015. Krnjaca, Serbia. Ayham and Snono (nicknames) investigating the surrounding of a refugee camp Krnjaca near Belgrade. They stayed in the camp for over a month, making plans and organizing logistics to continue their journey. One night, they just ran through the main gate, jumping into the moving wehicle of a smugler who took them further towards the border.
24.06.2015. Krnjaca, Serbia. Refugees from ex-Yugoslavia wars live in the collective center Krnjaca along present day refugees from war torn countries. Sometimes, humanity and friendship between them are stronger than any objective barriers. A friendship started here in Krnjaca between Milan and Hari. Milan came during the war in ex-Yugoslav republik Croatia, and he lives in Krnjaca for more than a decade. Hari came from Iran, through Greece, and lives in Krnjaca for a couple of months. One day, Hari saw Milan with fishing rod. Whilst liking fishing very much, he started a conversation.The two of them found a mutual understanding that turned into friendship although not speaking the same languages, and they've been close to each other ever since.
31.07.2010. Belgrade, Serbia. Artists practice for the circus play in front of a tent set up in Usce Park in Belgrade. Students of the National Center for Circus Arts (CNAC) from France were guests at the Belgrade Summer Festival (BEELF) with the music circus "Urban Rabbits", directed by Arpad Schilling, director of the Kretakor Theater in Budapest.
13.02.2015. Krnjaca, Serbia. Clothes hanging on the wire in front of the barracks in a refugee camp Krnjaca. Tens of thousands of refugees have been settled in this camp since the beginning of the Syrian war and the refugee crises that triggered massive exodus of people using Balkan route on their way to the Western world.
06.02.2105. Krnjaca, Serbia. Winter night in the camp for refugees and asylum seekers in Krnjaca near Belgrade. Hundreds of refugees were able to find a safe shelter here during cold winter days, while waiting for a chance to continue their journey.
03.05.2009. Belgrade, Serbia. Dusan (cover name from the French Foreign Legion) is taking the hidden gun out from the secret hiding place at his home. Above him on the door is the printed image of late Serbian patriarch Pavle. Dusko was just a regular youngster, a student of law and a free spirit. His urge for adventure, and sense of lack of perspective in developing Serbian society, led him to French Foreign Legion. He spent several years there, serving as professional soldier. When he came back home, he tried to reconnect with society, to tie broken strings and live like any normal citizen.
15.12.2020. Vukovar, Croatia. installation in memory of the victims of the massacre at mass grave Ovcara - Memorial home and grave site.
02.08.2010. Belgrade, Serbia. Artists practice for the circus play inside of a tent set up in Usce Park in Belgrade. Students of the National Center for Circus Arts (CNAC) from France were guests at the Belgrade Summer Festival (BEELF) with the music circus "Urban Rabbits", directed by Arpad Schilling, director of the Kretakor Theater in Budapest.
11.12.2020. Batajnica, Belgrade. Surrounding of a road leading to the police base of special police forces near the settlement “13 Maj- May 13th”, where bodies of 744 Kosovo Albanians were found and excavated in 2001.
marko-risovic-13-risovic-portfolio-1920
March 6, 2011 Glavica, Serbia. A Newlyweds in masks from village Glavica go to church in nearby town Paracin, during a marriage parade, 200 km. southeast of Belgrade, Serbia, March 6, 2011. This is a part of Serbian traditional manifestation from the mid 19th century, which is named Komendija , meaning comedy in Serbian rustic language. Across Serbia, people gather in villages to celebrate the end of White Week, an old traditional festivity. Various magic acts, ways of dressing, songs and dances of the participants had purpose to drive away evil forces, ensure the fertility of both people and fields, and save people, livestock and land from the adverse impact of otherworldly and atmospheric elements.
15.12.2020. Vukovar, Croatia. Mass grave Ovcara - Memorial home and grave site.
07.01.2016. Visoki Decani. Two men from the region of Urosevac came to monastery of Visoki Decani on a Christmas day. They received a donation by Serbian Orthodox Church in the form of two piglets. Piglets are traditionally prepared in Serbian households after the Christmas fasting. Orthodox Church in Kosovo, main institution of spiritual life for remaining Serbs, often donates different necessities to remaining citizens.
25.06.2008. Belgrade, Serbia. A young performer paractices for a circus play behind the scenes during a no-show day in public circus Korona. Traveling circuses were part of the tradition of public entertainement in the Balkans, but in recent years they became extremely rare.
27.02.2009. Paracin, Serbia. The Serbian glass factory in Paracin used to be the pride and soul of this small town. It employed almost the entire population. Dilapidated after years of neglect, the factory still emits smoke from its huge chimneys, but only sporadically, like a tired exhaled giant. Any new leadership does not find a solution to many problems. The plants closed one after the other and today only one is left in operation. Several workers keep the tradition and maintain the almost extinct way of producing unique glass objects by blowing glass. In a stuffy space, at an unbearably high temperature, working in three shifts, they fight every day for their modest salaries, aware that it is only a matter of days when the last furnace in the factory will be shut down.
marko-risovic-19-risovic-portfolio-1920-1
07.03.2011. Paracin, Serbia. Abandoned teddy bear is seen on a staircase of a hotel Petrus in Paracin. This industrial city was one of the promissing and progressive places of communism in ex-Yugoslavia. Today it represents a typical case of unsucessful transition, with high unemployment rates, almost closed factories and many inhabitants leaving in search of better opportunities.
06.11.2020. Blato, Serbia. Pavle Jocic, Luka Ciric, Nikola Todorovic and Mihajlo Stamenkov with two of their peers (not present in school at the moment of photographing) are the last remaining children in elementary school in the village of Blato. There is a growing trend among parents in the village to take their kids (which are very few) to school in the nearby city because of the “prestige and better education” as they perceive it. In Serbia, there are over 80 elementary schools with only one pupil attending, and hundreds of those that either stopped working in the recent past (over the course of the last 20-30 years) or will be completely abandoned in the near future. The changes that happened brought to the fact that certain areas became severely depopulated whilst lacking normal natural reproduction – meaning that there were no children of school age left.
Location
Belgrade, Serbia
Work
website
Follow

Marko Risovic

Mentor Program

Marko Risovic is a documentary photographer based in Belgrade. After working for years in various media outlets, he became a freelancer in 2010. Since then, he has concentrated on long-term projects about youth, social (in)justice, and the distribution of power in the Balkans. Marko is interested in intimate narratives about vulnerable social groups and individuals that reflect a wider social discourse. He believes that the language of photography storytelling still can shape the perception of the wider population and decision-makers, thus contributing to the continuous search for a better, more equal, and sustainable world.

 

Marko was chosen as one of the participants in the World Press Photo Masterclass for young photographers from Southeastern Europe in 2010. He has been a regular contributor to National Geographic Serbia magazine since 2007 and a contributing photographer to The New York Times and Le Monde for years. Marko is the founder of the Serbian photo collective Kamerades and a member of The Association of Serbian Applied Artists and Designers (ULUPUDS). He holds an MA degree in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from the University of the Arts in London. Marko is currently in the Mentor Program of VII Photo.

Latest updates

Bosnia on the Brink

June 14, 2022

Events

Jun
13
2023
New Voices- Marko Risovic
Subscribe to our newsletter
Copyright VII Foundation 2023