Sunset

The sunset is the moment just before the day transforms into night. It is an introduction to the night, a prelude to nothingness. Sunset is perceived as a universal symbol of everyday beauty and is one of the most photographed subjects. The neverending fascination with the sunset means that people, in general, are interested in the moment just before the light fades. Maybe the end of life is, much like a sunset, a bittersweet moment of explosive, colorful sentimentality. I guess it's a time when we can clearly assess the entire past, both in terms of time, politics, and history.

The Sunset comprises a series of photographs featuring Olga Masonii, my grandmother. She was born in 1938 in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Olga survived World War II in Kosovo and later continued her life in communist Yugoslavia, where there were periods of prosperity, food shortages, and political scandals and crimes. Yugoslavia dissolved in the 1990s during a decade-long civil war, leading to the creation of seven independent countries in the former Yugoslav region. She obviously lived through interesting times, but her life, just like the lives of all other people, was not shaped only by political and economic factors, although these often have a significant impact on individual lives.

My grandma got married at a young age, and she and her husband moved around frequently. She became pregnant two years into her marriage, but due to unstable income, personal relations, frequent relocations, and the economic situation in the former Yugoslavia, my grandmother decided to give her son to her parents for upbringing. She visited him on weekends, and soon after, she separated from her husband, although they never officially divorced. They reunited after 12 years and began living together in an apartment in Podgorica—the same apartment that can be seen in the photographs. She didn't like discussing her personal life much, and she became increasingly reclusive. She rarely left her home, although neighbors and friends were always welcome to visit her. She experienced frequent mood swings.

The Sunset slideshow is divided into four parts. In the first part, we see Olga alone in her cluttered home. At times, my grandmother enjoyed posing for me, but there were also moments when she declined. Usually, I shoot quickly and spontaneously; that's why my photos are in snapshot style. In the second part, her portraits are interwoven with images of landscapes, sunsets, seascapes, and soft lighting, all of which foreshadow my grandmother's impending death. In the third part of the slideshow, Olga's portraits are blended with family photos of her family and friends, as well as archive historical images spanning the last six decades, during which many wars, conflicts, and political issues escalated in the former Yugoslavia and the countries that emerged after the dissolution of Yugoslavia. In the final part of the slideshow, once again, we see Olga in her cluttered apartment. Her photos are mixed with images of her family and friends, but gradually, her photos become rarer, and in the end, viewers predominantly see people who will outlive the elderly woman.

My goal was not to depict the individual destiny of my grandmother, because I myself never truly understood what made her happy or unhappy. In fact, it seems that one's life is very complex, so it is difficult to understand the reason for one's misery. I wanted to be like a tourist who aims to capture a sunset—a prolonged moment in which life sums itself up without a final calculation or conclusion.