Gentiana Braha

Born in 1993 in the Eastern European country Kosovo , I have vague memories of the village that my family are from Stagova I remember playing football in the play ground of the school facing a small beautiful mosque and  being surrounded by beautiful scenery. In 1999 my family migrated to Manchester England to get away from the conflict in Kosovo during the Balkan war with the intention of moving back once it was safe which resulted with us gaining British Citizenship.

  

My practice varies from Photography, film, and mixed media I have always been willing to try new materials and experimenting until I get results I am happy with, my work always relates back to my culture and upbringing as it is a very big part in my life, visiting Kosovo every summer for six weeks at a time since 2005 I have seen the country I love develop so quickly and beautifully into a much more modern and westernised place, but the culture is strong and the people are very passionate and patriotic about it, I love learning about the History it has and this has developed a great way of thinking which I incorporate in my practice, I have a hard time letting moment pass by me I like to appreciate what I have around me and storing these moments somewhere safe like my art work is how I cope with growing up and moving on with my life, even though looking back at all my memories through old home videos is difficult and brings up a different range of emotions.

 

I’m very interested in video manipulation in art practices, as well as Photojournalism. The techniques that photojournalists use, like analysing, framing and constructing a photograph, are used when I am creating a piece of art work. Understanding how things are viewed by an audience and being able to manipulate and persuade through detail and composition, is a very powerful and important skill to have, this approach strengthens an artists practice and the viewers reaction towards it.