Aleksandrija Ajduković

– born in 1975 in Osijek, Croatia) graduated from the BK Academy of Arts in Belgrade, specializing in photography, and completed her master’s studies at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. She was a guest student under Marina Gržinić in the class for post-conceptual artistic practice at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Through portraits of random passersby and non-professional models, the artist humorously and elaborately captures phenomena of everyday life and their reflections in the domains of fashion, pop culture, and the lifestyle of (non)urban environments. In recent years, her practice has increasingly leaned toward cinematography, exploring the relationship between film and photography, using the cinematic medium to enhance the sense of spontaneity—one of the main strategies of documenting reality. She has received the 45th October Salon Award, and her independent film Ibarska Highway was awarded a special recognition for a debut work at the Balkan Beyond Borders festival in Greece.

During my photography studies, I began developing a specific sensitivity for addressing social topics through the camera lens. Over time, my artistic practice evolved into exploring the boundaries between art and everyday life, identity, and contemporary phenomena shaping today’s world, focusing on how social and political changes are reflected in individual experiences. My photographs often portray random passersby, so-called “non-professional models,” capturing everyday reflections of modern society with an emphasis on fashion, pop culture, and the lifestyle of (non)urban environments.
Apart from photography, my artistic practice includes experimental film. In 2013, I created three Super 8 short films as a result of workshops in Bologna and Belgrade, where I explored the narrative possibilities of film in a documentary form. My professional experience includes roles as an archival photographer at the Cultural Center Studentski grad and as a photographer in films. I also worked as director of photography and cinematographer for documentary films such as Jovica and His Teeth and Yellow People from the East Will Come and Drink the River from Morava. Collaborating with platforms like Vice Serbia and the Kaleidoscope web portal has allowed me to explore and reflect on social themes through different media.
The exhibition No Name Riviera (2016), the experimental-alternative film Ibarska Highway (2019) 1, and experimental-documentary films such as Serbian Fashion Journal (2020) and Fat Tuesday (2022) 2 represent just part of my engagement in artistic production addressing themes of everyday life, social norms, and popular culture. In my work, I often examine the relationship between photography and film and how social narratives are conveyed through visual language. Inspired by my experience of moving from an urban to a rural environment, I initiated a project titled Integration in Three Phases 3, exploring the process of adaptation and inclusion in a new community. This project is divided into three phases—Honeymoon, Sobering, and Integration—and through an authentic visual expression, I portray the transformation of personal and collective identities in a new environment. With sympathy and trust, I approach new encounters, especially women from the local community, empowering them through photography and film to participate in documenting and reinterpreting everyday life. This project can also be viewed as feminist, as women often bear the burden of organization and serve as silent leaders in creating social bonds within micro-communities. In this context, I captured spontaneous moments and conversations through a series of portraits and animated visual sequences, documenting genuine, unfiltered scenes of life in a new environment. The installation included circular lightboxes with portraits of women alongside bicycles—scenes typical of Vojvodina’s streets, symbolizing everyday rituals and local customs. Through a composition of audiovisual elements displayed on tablets, conversations and interactions were presented, while my documentary film, featuring footage from the Danube and Banovci (where the project unfolds), explores different layers of time and space. This work reflects the era and migratory flows, whether from city to village or abroad, through authentic depictions of interpersonal relationships and cultural transitions.
My academic work also plays a significant role in understanding my practice. I completed my doctorate at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where I researched the theory of dramatic arts, culture, and media. My doctoral dissertation, The Treatment of the Body in Popular Visual Culture (The Theory of Animal Print), analyzes the symbolism and societal influence of popular culture through the lens of visual identity. This theoretical research is deeply embedded in my photographic work, where I strive to depict the tension between socio-cultural norms and individual expressions of identity.
 

1 Aleksandra Ajdukovic, Ibarska Highway(2019), See: www.vimeo.com/318277317?share=copy#t=0.
2 Aleksandra Ajdukovic, Fat Tuesday (2022), See: www.vimeo.com/734881384/0e74ede0e7?ts=0&share=copy.
3 Aleksandra Ajdukovic, Integration in Three Phases, See: vimeo.com/932271741/6159c30f80?ts=0&share=copy.

Aleksandrija Ajduković (1975, Osijek, Hrvatska), diplomirala je na Akademiji umetnosti BK u Beogradu pri Odseku za fotografiju, a master studije na Akademiji umetnosti Novi Sad. Bila je gost-student Marine Gržinić na klasi za postkonceptualnu umetničku praksu na Likovnoj akademiji u Beču. Kroz portretisanje slučajnih prolaznika, naturščika-modela, autorka na elaboriran i duhovit način beleži fenomene svakodnevnog života i njegove refleksije u domenu mode, pop kulture i stila života (ne)urbanih sredina. Njena praksa poslednjih godina sve više istupa ka kinematografiji ispitujuće odnos filma i fotografije, pojačavajući zapravo filmskim medijem utisak spontanosti, kao jedne od glavnih strategija dokumentarnog načina beleženja stvarnosti. Dobitnica je nagrade 45. Oktobarskog salona, a njen autorski alternativni film Ibarska Highway nagrađen je specijalnim priznanjem za debitantsko ostvarenje na festivalu Balkan beyond Borders u Grčkoj.

Tokom studija fotografije počela sam da razvijam specifičan senzibilitet za propitivanje društvenih tema kroz objektiv kamere. Vremenom, moja umetnička praksa razvila se u istraživanje granica između umetnosti i svakodnevnog života, identiteta i savremenih fenomena koji oblikuju današnji svet, fokusirajući se na to kako se društvene i političke promene reflektuju u individualnim iskustvima pojedinaca. Moje fotografije otuda neretko portretišu slučajne prolaznike, tzv. “naturščike” – modele koji nisu profesionalci – beležeći svakodnevne refleksije savremenog društva, s naglaskom na modu, pop kulturu i životni stil (ne)urbanih sredina.
 
Pored fotografije, moja umetnička praksa obuhvata i eksperimentalni film. Tokom 2013. realizovala sam tri super 8 kratka filma kao rezultat radionica u Bolonji i Beogradu, gde sam istraživala narativne mogućnosti filma kroz dokumentarnu formu. Moja radna iskustva uključuju pozicije arhivskog fotografa u Domu kulture Studentski grad i fotografa na filmu, kao i uloge direktorke fotografije i snimateljke u dokumentarnim filmovima Jovica i njegovi zubi i Doćiće žuti ljudi sa istoka i piće reku sa Morave. Kroz saradnju sa platformama kao što su Vice Srbija i web portal Kaleidoskop, imala sam priliku da istražujem i reflektujem društvene teme kroz drugačije medije.
 
Izložba No Name rivijera (2016), eksperimentalno-alternativni film Ibarska Highway (2019) 1 , kao i eksperimentalno-dokumentarni filmovi Modni žurnal Srbije (2020) i Debeli utorak (2022) 2 predstavljaju samo deo mog angažmana u oblasti umetničke produkcije koja se bavi temama svakodnevnog života, društvenih normi i popularne kulture. U svom radu često istražujem odnos između fotografije i filma, kao i kako se društveni narativi prenose kroz vizuelni jezik.
Inspirisana sopstvenim iskustvom preseljenja iz urbanog u ruralni prostor, pokrenula sam projekat Integracije u tri faze 3 koji istražuje proces prilagođavanja i uključivanja u novu zajednicu. Ovaj autorski projekat podeljen je na tri faze – medeni mesec, otrežnjenje i integracija – čime kroz autentičan vizuelni izraz prikazujem transformaciju ličnih i kolektivnih identiteta u novom okruženju. Sa simpatijama i poverenjem prilazim novim susetkama, ženama iz lokalne zajednice, i kroz fotografiju i kameru osnažujem ih da učestvuju u procesu dokumentovanja i reinterpretacije svakodnevice. Ovaj projekat može se posmatrati i kao feministički, budući da žene, kroz svoje angažovanje u mikro zajednicama, često nose teret organizacije i tihi su lideri u kreiranju društvenih veza. U ovom kontekstu, zabeležila sam spontane trenutke i razgovore kroz seriju portreta i animiranih vizuelnih sekvenci, čime sam dokumentovala istinske, nefiltrirane prizore života u novoj sredini. U postavci su korišćeni kružni lajt-boksovi sa portretima žena pored bicikala – scena tipičnih za vojvođanske sokake, koji simbolizuju svakodnevne rituale i lokalne običaje. Kompozicijom audio-vizuelnih elemenata na tabletima prikazani su razgovori i interakcije, dok moj dokumentarni film sa kadrovima snimljenim na Dunavu i u Banovcima, mestu gde se projekat odvija, istražuje različite slojeve vremena i prostora. Ovaj rad je refleksija vremena i migracionih tokova, bilo iz grada u selo ili prema inostranstvu, kroz autentične prikaze međuljudskih odnosa i kulturnih tranzicija.
Moj akademski rad takođe igra značajnu ulogu u razumevanju moje prakse. Doktorirala sam na Fakultetu dramskih umetnosti u Beogradu, gde sam istraživala teoriju dramskih umetnosti, kulture i medija. Moja doktorska disertacija, Tretman tela u popularnoj vizuelnoj kulturi (teorija animal printa), bavi se analizom simbolike i društvenog uticaja popularne kulture kroz prizmu vizuelnog identiteta. Ova teorijska istraživanja duboko su prožeta u mojim fotografskim

1 Aleksandra Ajdukovic, Ibarska Highway(2019), pogledaj: www.vimeo.com/318277317?share=copy#t=0.
2 Aleksandra Ajdukovic, Debeli utorak (2022), pogledaj: www.vimeo.com/734881384/0e74ede0e7?ts=0&share=copy.
3 Aleksandra Ajdukovic, Integracija u tri faze, pogledaj: www.vimeo.com/932271741/6159c30f80?ts=0&share=copy.