Portrait nominee

Over the course of few voyages to Africa's Omo Valley,I became fascinated by the beauty of the Surma, Mursi and Karo tribes, who share a taste for body painting and extravagant decorations borrowed from nature. This collection of photographs captures these accouterments with the Surma tribe. This portfolio serialises the stories of the Surma tribe - a people who are as creative as they are proud. Their bodies are canvases, the valleys their catwalk, mother earth their designer of haute couture.In their individuality there lies much to be admired. To embrace vividly differently cultures such as that of the Surma Tribe is to discover stories, and to step beyond the fear of unknown places.
Cherishing differences, respecting tradition, my journey down dusty roads and over challenging terrain has been as much about capturing these stories, as it has been about self-discovery. Remoteness, lack of amenities and tribal wars have demanded much in the way of resourcefulness and determination to tell the tales of the Surma Tribe – in all their tribalistic and artistically experimental glory.

Biljana Jurukovski is a Macedonian Australian Award-Winning Photographer who has been inspired and amazed by the diverse and beautiful expressions of different cultures. She enjoys travelling to remote destinations to learn about cultures and traditions of indigenous people and to photograph them.

Biljana’s portraits are a culmination of her passion, love and respect for other cultures and traditions; they depict a graceful world where strength and pride are engraved on the faces of the people photographed. Her aim is through photography to create discussions about different cultures, their way of living and accepting life challenges. Biljana sees photography as a medium for communication between people.

Biljana’s work has been featured internationally in many magazines, newspapers, websites including The Guardian, Lens Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald, La Fotografia Magazine, EYS magazine, Silvershootz Magazine, Dek Unu Magazine and many more.

She has won many Awards and her work has been shown in exhibitions in New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Macedonia, France.