Dimensions: support: 762 x 914 mm
Copyright: © Phil Collins, courtesy Kerlin Gallery, Dublin | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Phil Collins, born in 1970, created this photographic print, sized at 762 by 914mm, titled "Young Serbs, Siniša". Editor: It feels like a Renaissance painting, but in the grass...like a Caravaggio of calm. The light and shadow are almost theatrical. Curator: Considering Collins' broader engagement with youth subcultures and political contexts, I wonder if there's an intentional contrast here. The medium itself—photography—becomes a commentary on representation. Editor: It's compelling! Makes you question the story behind the rest, what Siniša is dreaming about, or maybe even escaping from. The choice of subject gives the image a soulful quality. Curator: The casual nature of the photograph belies the socio-political weight often embedded within Collins' work. He uses a classic aesthetic to highlight contemporary issues. Editor: Yes, exactly! You see a simple portrait, and then… you realize it's so much more complex. It makes you think. Curator: Indeed, the photograph becomes a poignant intersection of art, politics, and the individual. Editor: A powerful image, in many ways.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/collins-young-serbs-sinisa-p78700
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This is one of a series of five portraits of young people living in Belgrade. The photographs were taken approximately eight months after the democratic revolution of 5th October 2000, when mass demonstrations in Belgrade and other Serbian cities overthrew the regime of communist leader Slobodan Milosovic (born 1941). Collins photographed individuals he knew well, focusing on close-up and sometimes partial views of their faces as they lay on grass, possibly in a park. In some images, long tendrils of grass partly obscure the subjects’ faces, casting dark shadows in the bright sunlight. In others, the subject is further away and appears more autonomous from the viewer. The photographs feature rich, saturated colour and a sensual atmosphere created by the juxtaposition of sun-drenched skin in the sun on the grass and the close proximity of a face-to-face encounter. The romantic theme of youth coupled with nature is undercut by the disenchanted gaze of the subjects who, although pictured looking back at the viewer, appear distant and lost in their own thoughts. In this image, Siniša rests his head on his folded arm and looks out from between nearly closed lids. His lips are slightly parted as though he is deeply relaxed, falling asleep or daydreaming. Because his eyes are in shadow, it is not possible to read their expression.
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