Leaving my birthplace of Trogir and moving to Chicago at the age of 6 left my soul on a constant journey back to my homeland. Those early years left a big imprint in my mind and memories of my grandmother singing alongside me as I rode on her donkey in the village tugged at my heart. My family would go visit Croatia as often as possible, but it wasn’t enough to fulfill the yearning for my culture and heritage. Additionally, having connected with the wonderful Croatian community in Chicago wasn’t enough to quench my thirst. I ached to return, replant my roots back “home” and raise my family among the land of my ancestors.
During the years spent in Chicago, my love for photography was born. Combining it with my passion for music was instinctual and became the perfect creative marriage and outlet for me. I’ve been fortunate to capture many admired bands and am grateful for my relationship with The Frames, which resulted in a photography book and for my longtime collaboration with Wilco, one of my many Chicago music families.
My time behind the lens was also spent endlessly photographing the many beautiful parts of Croatia on my visits. Over the years, I became increasingly fascinated with the deep-rooted culture of all of the neighboring villages and towns in this photogenic country. What a privilege it would be to combine my love of photography, music and exploring Croatia to capture peoples’ stories, personal families’ histories, ancestral heritage… and thus the idea for Heritage Documented was born 20 years ago. It’s been tucked away in the back of my mind but since I’ve returned to my birthplace, and am thrilled to share my passion for visual storytelling.
The thrill of discovering new towns and villages, seeing it from a personal family’s perspective and adding my touch to document a family’s heritage is deeply gratifying. I’m always inspired by what I learn and the ability to share it with families, visually and perhaps through stories from locals, deepens my relationship to my homeland and allows me to strengthen others’ connection to it.
Now families and their villages, towns, and cities are also the rockstars in front of my lens.