By: Jonathan O’Connor
Photos by Balsa Gobovic.
“I was six years old when Montenegro started falling apart. My aunt would come to me and bring me a camera. It brought me joy. I could stop and snap a moment in time. There is something magical about that.”
Balsa Gobovic, first-year MFA photography student, discovered his passion for photography at an early age. It wasn’t until later, however, that Gobovic could revisit this childhood memory and see its significance.
Gobovic came to the United States to live with his aunt, but ended up staying for his MA at Western Virginia State University. Upon completion, his advisor suggested SCAD for further study. The following year, instead of going directly to SCAD, Gobovic returned to Montenegro to see where life would take him.
“I came back home, but the thing is that I hadn’t been there for a long time. Somehow I thought that while time was passing for me, things would be preserved back home, but when I returned I realized that it was not this way. My brother, for example, is five years older and my friends have families. I came back home, but I came back to a different environment than I had left,” said Gobovic.
Photography became an outlet for Gobovic as he began to take pictures of his familiar, yet foreign environment. The pictures he took within this year provide viewers with a unique view on what his return home was like.
“There is a very nice picture of the wall of my balcony. A balcony is normally a place where you go to look out and see things, but I had my head against the wall. It was that view that I was seeing a lot. I was analyzing and thinking, where do I go?”
Gobovic’s series on Montenegro showcases the disconnect he was experiencing upon his return and, in a way, served as a means by which he could give himself direction. When he arrived at SCAD this autumn, Gobovic found himself having to adjust to yet another new environment, but he found comfort in photography. Gobovic continues to take photographs that reflect his unique perspective, this time as a newcomer to Atlanta.
In his first weeks in Atlanta, Gobovic has begun to explore his surroundings, taking pictures of the people and places that interest him. It is in this way that he is becoming acquainted with the city, very much in the same way he became reacquainted with Montenegro one year ago.
For now, Gobovic hopes that his passions will guide his future, but he finds joy in teaching and helping others. He doesn’t know if his future is in Montenegro or in the United States, but he is certain that wherever he ends up, he wants to continue to do things that provide happiness for himself and others.
“When I see that people know and actually understand what I am telling them and incorporate that in their projects—that’s what I enjoy. When I see them come to me again and I see that they’ve used my suggestions… It’s a good feeling.”