Then and Again

Martin Atanasov is a visual artist and researcher. In his work, he explores the queer body, homosexuality in the context of Bulgaria, and the political and social transition of Bulgaria after the fall of the communist regime. The main media and forms which Martin uses in his visual research are photography, video, photobooks, and texts. Some of his recent works are the self-published photobook and project How To Forget Your Past Fast, exhibited at festival Circulations, Paris, France, in 2023; Notes on Cutout Study, installation and photobook exhibited at GARA art space, Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2023; Between the Wild Grass, sound piece/conversation with Katy Bentall and installation part from the project New Ecologies, exhibited at Swimming Pool Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2023; Nature Index, self-published photo zine in collaboration with Konstantin Georgiev, 2021–2023. He lives and works in Sofia, Bulgaria.
 

Ali Cem Doğan is currently working on several film projects as a cinematographer, is a lecturer in the Izmir University of Economics’ Fine Arts and Cinema & Digital Media departments, and one of the founding members of İzmir Darağaç Collective. He grew up in Izmir and completed his undergraduate education at the Media and Communication Department of Izmir University of Economics in 2013. He completed his master’s degree at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2018. “I engage in the audio-visual documentation of narratives that evolve through the use of rhetoric and symbols. My focus revolves around exploring the identity, socio-cultural existence, and struggles of individuals within their communities, serving as the foundational elements of my storytelling. Through my works, I visualise a space for these narratives, while other times, I position these characters right at the centre of their own stories.” He lives and works in İzmir, Turkey.
 

Armin Graca is a photographer and storyteller born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Graca uses his camera to document everyday social life, telling stories through visual experience. Street and documentary photography are his main interests, and he spends most of his free time taking photos on the streets. In addition, he works on long-term documentary projects. In 2023, he won the First prize at the Brussels Street Photography Festival and a Grand Prix award and First prize at the Sarajevo Photography Festival. He lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia.
 

Teodora Ivkov is a visual researcher and artist. Through her work, she explores her personal and national identity with a focus on collecting overlooked artefacts and gestures, often weaving her research process into a story told through photography, tactile objects, books, and exhibitions. She graduated in Fine Arts Photography from the Academy of Arts University of Novi Sad and holds an MSc in Product and Service Design from the Sapienza University of Rome (2020 with honours). Currently, she is a PhD student at Sapienza studying photography as a visual method for design research. She lives and works in Rome, Italy.
 

Marietta Mavrokordatou’s practice explores the possibilities of image-making. Employing autobiographical elements, she reimagines these from the spectator’s point of view, finding ways to relate anew. The presentation of Mavrokordatou’s narratives leads back to the photographic medium itself, where she directly addresses its formal parameters. The photograph becomes at once a depiction of both itself and the artist. Usually working with a succession of images, the fiction is created in the rhythm found somewhere between the gestures, the gaps, and the disruptions. She holds an MFA in Fine Art Media from The Slade School of Fine Art. Her recent solo exhibition, GIRL, took place at Thkio Ppalies, Nicosia. Recent solo and group exhibitions include: Ah This!, Felix Gaudlitz, Vienna (2023); Homotopy Type Theory, Oslo (2023); Park Activity, Nicosia (2023); Our Misfortune, Thousand Julys, Nicosia (2022); and Power, Corruption & Lies, Unit 3 Projects, London (2022). She lives and works in London, UK.
 

Luka Pešun is a photographer. His primary interest revolves around exploring the meaning of identity, family, and belonging with a focus on queer as opposed to the norm. His work is mostly digital and documentary in nature but also includes appropriation of images found in family albums, screenshots, and analogue photographs that exist somewhere between being staged and real. Questioning meaning in regard to context, he explores things from mundane to personal with a particular interest in the relation between a person and the space they inhabit. He holds an MA in Photography from the Academy of Dramatic Art and has exhibited in various group and solo exhibitions throughout Croatia, including the 36th Youth Salon in Zagreb. He lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.
 

Marius Ionut Scarlat is a documentary photographer. He is interested in social issues from Romania, playing with the tension that new narratives can introduce in the field of documentary photography. In his projects, he insists on addressing the tensions and conflicts arising from his move to Spain. His work has been recognised and awarded in several national and international competitions, such as PHotoEspaña, Magnum Photos, Futures Photography, The Emerging Photographer Fund, Visa pour l ́image, and Matera European Photography. Beyond his artistic pursuits, he contributes to the academic realm by teaching classes at the University School of Arts TAI. Scarlat lives and works between Romania and Spain.
 

Stratis Vogiatzis is an anthropologist, writer, filmmaker, and visual artist whose work is closely related to the posthuman or post-anthropocentric discourse. At the heart of his practice lie polyvocality and collaborative modes of working. He is the founder of the Caravan Project, an interdisciplinary collective that mediates diverse forms of knowledge production – human and non-human engaging in collaborative projects that emphasise agency and encounter, transformability, listening, and making space. His works belong to museums and private collections. He has published five books and directed several independent documentaries and films distinguished at international film festivals. Born and raised in the island of Chios, Greece, he now lives and works in Athens, Greece.
 

Gerta Xhaferaj is a visual artist and photographer, with a background in architecture. Employing both spontaneity and methodology, her artistic focus lies in a historical and documentary style, seeking profound engagement with specific realities to extract intense aesthetic experiences. Emphasising the purpose of revealing the typically unseen, her approach encapsulates a holistic exploration of contemporary dynamic, exploring diverse media, including photography, video, installation, and sound. She is the recipient of the 2022 VID Grant by VID Foundation for Photography in Amsterdam. Her work has been exhibited in Galeria 17, Pristina; Larnaca Biennale, Cyprus; Jelsa Art Biennial, Hvar Island; MOCA, Skopje; Zeta Gallery, Tirana; Manifesta Biennial 14, Pristina; Vogue Photo Festival, Milan; Bazament Art Space, Tirana; Galeria e Bregdetit, Vlorë. Holding an MSc in architecture, she is currently pursuing an MA in Fine Arts at FHNW University of Art and Design in Basel, where she lives and works.