Dragan Saric is a sociologist-turned-photographer born in Yugoslavia. Growing up in-between cultures and identifying with a country that no longer exists, Dragan is deeply interested in the mechanisms and structures that have caused his own displacement. Embracing this in-betweenness as a liminal space — a place in-between arrival and destination, being and not being — he uses photography to tell stories that confront the viewer with liminality. His sociological background serves to analyze and further broaden these stories into greater narratives.
While Dragan’s earlier work reflects on ”the homely”, his current work takes a shift into its Freudian flipside: ”the unhomely”. By visiting spaces that seem in suspended animation — seemingly functional, but totally devoid of people — Dragan wonders why these spaces are synonymous with horror, ghosts, and subconscious fears. He subsequently questions how we can become estranged from these spaces: which we once called home.
Dragan’s photographic process involves a mixture of film, digital, and infrared. Closely resembling a cinematic approach — through color grading, spectral filters, and capturing invisible light — Dragan shifts and portrays images as emotional landscapes, concurrently shedding light on the unseen. Rather than a strict documentary approach, his viewpoint therefore more closely resides within the realm of poetics. Through his work, he questions what leaving behind and forming an identity means in an increasingly globally connected/fragmented society, contemplating themes such as identity, (be)longing, hauntology, and the (un)homely.
Part of The Photbookmuseum’s dummy award 2025, his shortlisted book ”Tomorrow Hotel” is currently part of the ongoing world tour. Among others, Dragan is also a participant in Fotodok’s Lighthouse program, and recipient of the Docks Prize from Passepartout in Rome. He has lived and worked in Taipei and is currently based between Soest and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

CV:
Education
2016 – Utrecht University – MSc in Sociology.
2024 – FOTODOK Utrecht – Lighthouse 2024/2025 program.
Awards and Honors
2025 – THE PHOTOBOOKMUSEUM DUMMY AWARD – ’25 short-list.
2024 – FOTODOK LIGHTHOUSE – 2024/2025 Edition selection.
2023 – PASSEPARTOUT PRIZE – 7th edition winner of The Docks Prize.
2023 – GUP FRESH EYES INTERNATIONAL – 5th edition talent.
2023 – Charta Award 2022 – Short-listed.
2022 – GUP FRESH EYES – 4th edition talent.
2019 – Mobile Photography Awards – honourable mention.
Exhibitions
2025 – The Photobook Museum – Dummy Award 25′ world tour.
2024 – ART-ICON Paris – Corporeality group exhibition.
2024 – Encontros da Imagem Braga – Photobook Award exhibition.
2024 – Breda Photo – Beam Night screening.
2024 – LoosenArt Gallery Rome – Into the Night group exhibition.
2024 – LoosenArt Gallery Rome – Nostalgia group exhibition.
2023 – Haute Photgraphie Amsterdam – Fresh Eyes presentation.
2023 – Charta Festival Rome – Shortlisted group presentation.
2023 – Haute Photographie Rotterdam – Fresh Eyes print exhibition.
2022 – Haute Photographie Amsterdam – Fresh Eyes screen exhibition.
2020 – VOX-POP Amsterdam – Roaring 2020s digital exhibition.
Publications
2025 – The Photobook museum – Dummy Award 25′ Catalogue.
2025 – TOMORROW HOTEL – Self-published handmade edition of 10.
2024 – ART-ICON – Exhibition catalogue.
2024 – LoosenArt ‘Into the Night’ – Exhibition catalog.
2024 – LoosenArt ‘Nostalgia’ – Exhibition catalog.
2023 – Fresh Eyes International – Annual publication.
2022 – Fresh Eyes – Annual publication.
Talks
2024 – Raise Your Zine Festival Napoli – Tomorrow Hotel: A journey trough parallel histories, liminality and (be)longing.
Features
2024 – Giostre X – Article about Tomorrow Hotel.
2024 – Arttaca – Selected Artist.
2023 – Passepartout Photo Prize 7th edition – feature.
2023 – Yogurt Magazine – feature.
2022 – Passepartout Photo Prize 4th edition – feature.
2020 – Fotolab KieKie Amsterdam; Kiekie art – 2020 talent.