I try to take care of myself now
Matej Jurčević
I try to take care of myself now is the result of many years of research that monitors the fight against depression and seeks possible ways of visual and textual representation of different mental states. The project was presented in the form of a book. Visually contrasting narratives speculate about the individuation processes and the experienced catharsis. It was realized within the project Organ Vida Publishing and designed by Dario Devic.
Matej Jurčević graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts (KASKA), Antwerp in 2021 with a MA in Photography. In his artistic practice he explores themes of identity, collective memory and youth culture. Due to personal mental health struggles he works towards destigmatisation of mental illness. He is a recipient of the VID Grant award for 2021 hosted by the VID Foundation for Photography. The award is granted to photographers exploring relevant social issues in the Balkans. In 2022 he published his first photobook: I try to take care of myself now. The book was published by Organ Vida Publishing.
Silent Fleeting Sorrows
With the project Silent Fleeting Sorrows I am unraveling a story about a heritage of distrust and cultural tension in modern-day Slavonia, Croatia. With its multilayered history of war aggression, economic and emigration crises, the region holds up a mirror to the world at large. The project is focusing on the unique set of challenges growing up in such landscapes presents on the identity, self-esteem and beliefs of young people.
The project has received support through the VID Grant mentorship award offered by the VID Foundation for Photography. Mentored by Shannon Ghannam through the VID program, as well as through the Futures Photography Platforms tutoring program mentored by Markéta Kinterová.
I get so lonely life in magazines
With this project the artist explores fanaticism through his own relationship with fashion imagery. Magazine pages are turned into coded objects to explore themes of masculinity, religion, sex, and fantasies. Fragile collage-like forms visualize his personal mythology, fears, and anxieties. Through deconstruction, he hopes to understand the fanaticism for fashion magazines he felt in high school. The title of the project is a quotation from a lyric by the artist Sophie. She tragically passed away earlier this year. The day before her passing he cut out an image of her from i-D and put it aside to work on later, the next day the news of her tragic passing woke him up; I get so lonely, life in magazines.