When I was younger, I used to think that as soon as you turn 18, you will suddenly feel like a young adult and understand everything in life. In reality, however, even when I reached this age, I still found it difficult to talk about how I feel like a lot, things didn’t make sense to me. At 17, I moved to England on my own where being surrounded by a foreign language even multiplied the struggle to express myself fully. It was then when I started to seek new ways in which this could be done.

2.5 years ago I bought my first camera (Canon 600D which I use until today) and looked up to photographers such as Alex Stoddard, Alex Currie or Rosie Hardy for their photography art. Being in a foreign country where I wasn’t confident enough to speak up, led me to create portrait photography pieces that I quickly adopted as an alternative way of transcending the reality I felt, to a reality that others could see. I started to spend more time on my own and carry my camera with me at all times. Sometimes I would come up with a specific photo idea in advance, sketch it and choose the right location that would fit the mood of the intended image but even more often I just grabbed a prop and ran outside right after school while there was still some light and took pictures.

Nature is a recurring backdrop in my photo art, and in a majority of them, I incorporate myself as the main subject conveying the story. Coming from Slovakia where nature is so vibrant, I always felt very connected to it and saw it as a place where one could go, think, and figure things out.

Some of the photo manipulations are somber and full of dark motives while others encapsulate the tranquility of spending time alone, which for me is a part of growing up. The making of each photo has a story of its own. One day I would be sitting in a forest creek full of leeches (like for the ‘Poisoned Heart’ photo), and the next day I would be holding a dead stag beetle in my mouth until I am happy with the picture. Although placing myself into these kinds of scenarios isn’t always pleasant, I feel a certain sense of relief when I end up with the unique art I had in mind and even more so if it helps to visualize how I felt at the time.

More info: Instagram | Facebook

Words That Sting Most

Home’s Where You Go When You Run Out Of Homes

Unclean Soul

Awakened Imagination

The Inventor Of The Mirror Poisoned The Human Heart

Stitched Up Heart

Down The Stream Of Thoughts

Transformation

Slave To My Own Mind

Exam-Time

Froth On The Daydream

Peace Of Mind

Down To Earth

“Solitude has soft, silky hands, but with strong fingers it grasps the heart and makes it ache with sorrow”

Observations

The Summary Of Human History

Beauty Of A Danger

Cold Emptiness

Solitude is independence. It had been my wish and with the years I had attained it. It was cold. Oh, cold enough! But it was also still, wonderfully still and vast like the cold stillness of space in which the stars revolve.

Held Back By Nostalgia

When I Awoke, The World Was On Fire

Smudged Memories

“That’s the trouble with living things. Don’t last very long. Kittens one day, old cats the next. And then just memories. And the memories fade and blend and smudge together.”

Falling Down To Know Where I Stand

Floating Through Life

Homesick For Places I’ve Never Known