AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES AND PRESENTS THE AVANT GARDE OF THE TRIBAL WORLD THROUGH HER LATEST COLLECTION TRIBAL MUSE

Self-taught photographer, Biljana Jurukovski has unveiled her latest photographic collection with Tribal Muse, representing the unique Surma tribe through the use of blazing colour and artistry. Macedonian-Australian Biljana is one of only a handful of photographers to have been granted access to photograph this iconic tribe, who reside on the border between Ethiopia and South Sudan. In addition, she is one of a very few female photographers to have ventured to the Kibish region, where the Tribal Muse photographic project took place.

“The area is very challenging to visit and photograph due to ongoing tribal wars and a lack of amenities,” says Biljana. “However, I was inspired by the Surma tribe’s distinctiveness and grace – there is a beauty to this culture which I was determined to capture in photographic form.”

Biljana’s art is the result of an ongoing passion for exploring alternative cultures and traditions, often photographing her subjects against a plain black background in order to capture the full vibrancy of their traditional dress, and showcasing their artistic skills in the area of beautification. She has also captured tribes in Angola, a war-torn country that still has undiscovered tribes thanks to its remote location and 30 years of civil war.

The Surma tribe use their bodies as a canvas, adorning themselves with pigment gleaned from powdered volcanic rock and natural materials such as flowers, leaves and grasses – as well as animal horns and shells – to create an aesthetic which is at once distinctive and endlessly inventive.

“I want to encourage the viewer to look beyond the poverty of many of the areas I travel to, and seek to provide a window on a world which is rarely seen or talked about,” adds Biljana. “My work is constantly striving to empower all of us to see the beauty in our difference and diversity – to show that each of us is unique, and this is to be embraced and celebrated.”

Find out more about Biljana’s artwork and view prints from the collection at the official Tribal Muse website http://www.tribalmuse.net