This is a weekly series where we feature our incredibly talented Adolescent members and their work! Sign up here to join the Adolescent Membership and be part of the @ family!

Hi, Adolescent readers! This week, our Member Crush is none other than Tajana Dedić-Starović—a self-proclaimed glitter lover, photographer, and pornographer. Under the pseudonym Artist At Camera, Tajana explores femininity, sexuality, and everyday routines in her work. While based in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tajana has signed to Adolescent as a photographer and had her photos featured in our gallery events. Keep reading to learn why she strives to make her work sexual and jarring, and why she loves incorporating psychology into her photos.

Adolescent Content: How has being signed to Adolescent impacted the style and trajectory of your photography and directing?

Tajana Dedić-Starović: Being part of the Adolescent family has opened a whole new world to me. I’ve finally met people who aren’t afraid to take creative risks! I think I’ve opened up more and started to believe in myself more, too. Signing to this kind of agency meant I was doing some really good things.

Adolescent: I really love that you aren’t afraid for your photos to be sexual or jarring. Is there always a deeper meaning behind your work, or do you just enjoy shooting photos that will yield a shock factor?

Tajana: That shock factor is just one of [the ways I] reveal emotion in a viewer. I always tend to [strive for] that deeper meaning, because I honestly don’t believe that the point of art is to be only beautiful—there has to be something more.

Adolescent: Your bio references the idea of “sugar, spice, and everything nice.” How does that play into your work, whether it be photography or pornography?

Tajana: It’s a pretty cliché phrase, [but for me it’s really] connected to joyful girlhood. The main themes I explore in my work are girlhood and [the stereotypes associated] with it, [which I present] in distorted ways. Everything is mostly pink, sweet, and innocent, but in a brutal and very raw way. So I think that phrase speaks to my subtle irony.

Adolescent: Are there a lot of accessible creative resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina? 

Tajana: In Bosnia and Herzegovina, being an artist means [you have to constantly] fight for something that lots of people don’t understand or find important. We don’t have any funds, national programs, or anything that could help artists grow. We do have art schools, independent galleries, and international connections, but [those aren’t always easy to access].

Adolescent: You’re also a psychology student. How does that influence your photos?

Tajana: Yes! I’m proud to have a bachelors’ degree in psychology, but that will never become my profession. It has helped me during my creative process, though. I love using clichés from popular psychology that people are familiar with and connect them to my own themes of exploration.