Collateral Beauty

Collateral Beauty is an ongoing series where Aleks plays with the urban environment in its detail. "Collateral" typically refers to something related or connected to something else, often as a secondary or unintended consequence. For Aleks, something that might look like a simple image of a random object or rubbish, at first glance, turns out to be a riddle and a puzzle of a mysterious story. However, the narrative is beautiful but spooky, sometimes mystifying, and even uncanny. What is the story behind the subject, how did it end up there, or who used it? By raising those questions, Aleks intends to show the reality as it is, delivering each image as a story with room to reflect and finish viewers themselves. By polishing his visual language and instead of looking for something 'special', Aleks is empowering self-awareness, finding a certain feeling or intuition call when he sees something yet doesn't understand it intellectually or intuitively. Using mentioned above as a signal for a shot, Aleks collects these experiences making up a story of a philosophical reflection on what Socrates says, 'Know yourself'. Approaching the subject with subtle humour and irony, Alekse's visual language satirically romanticises garbage in its collateral beauty. Not less notably, the series drags attention to the pollution of the environment and the way humans abuse the environment. It might look unintentional and accidental, yet unavoidable, and by that, it comes as a red line throughout the story and one of the critical meanings of the narrative.