The Bounty ship - an old fashioned fairground ride, set up in Shutka, the Roma municipality of Skopje, during the days when Romas celebrate St. George's Day. The fairground is the favorite family past time during the celebration days.

Since the declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia has entered a transitional state which had all the stereotypical characteristics of countries moving from socialist and communist regimes towards free market economy and democracy, such as doubtful privatizations, corruption, scandals, political fiascos, etc. Although the country successfully avoided the first wave of ethnic conflicts which marked the break-up of Yugoslavia, with its ethnically mixed population Macedonia was eventually caught up in ethnic tensions and military conflict which only further complicated the bleak transitional reality.

The 15 years of independence have been years when this country also searched for and re-examined its identity. Being part of the Balkan family has never been easy when discussing issues of identity and history. The ever so similar mixture of nations and ethnic groups has always been eager to distinguish one among the others, if necessary even under the strategy of not recognizing the existence of the other. For a newly established country creating its identity proved to be a very difficult task.

Teenager playing accordion in front of the monument dedicated to the Krushevo Republic, in a concert that's part of the Ilinden celebration. Ilinden (Day of St. Elijah) is an important day from Macedonian history marking the uprising of the Macedonian revolutionaries and the brief liberation of Krushevo lasting only 10 days from the Ottoman rule.

Believing that a country is not only a political and geographical cliché, but rather a space which is illuminated and (re-)created by countless personal lives I embarked on what turned out to be a two year trip photographing people, customs, different professions and jobs, celebrations, funerals, habits, daily scenes and ways of living. I travelled through Macedonia’s villages and cities with the intention of creating an intimate portrait of a nation and exploring its identity offered through personal histories, and subtle interweaving of individual views and relations.

Today, Macedonians exist in a very complex synchronicity of the desired and what is, and it is the dream that connects both. These photographs try to capture that very dream. The dream accepted as a possibility to confront reality, the dream which just may be more real than reality itself.

 

Roma teenager selling balloons at a street fair in Skopje.

An older man holding a folding book with images of Josip Broz Tito, the former Yugoslav leader, during a commemoration held by a group of senior citizens in front of a high school in Skopje that still carries his name.

Birds flying across the sky before storm in Sveti Nikole.

Children role playing  with bows and arrows in Gevgelija.

Formula 1 team as a carnival mask for the annual carnival of Vevchani held on the first day of the New Year by the old Julian calendar.

Three men observing the funeral procession for the tragically deceased Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski through the streets of Skopje.

Boy jumping into the Ohrid Lake.

Skater with his broken skateboard after an ill-fated jump on a home-made skating ramp.

Couple kissing while their friend draws graffiti on the wall behind in Shtip. in Tetovo.

Roma man posing with a skinned lamb hanging in front of his house on St. George’s Day. Traditionally every Roma household slaughters a lamb on St. George’s Day marking the arrival of spring and in hope for the family’s well-being. The lamb is then left hanging outside for few hours as a show of wealth.

 

 

 

Girl watching deltaplanes from the top of Mount Galichica.