Branimir Karanov opened his solo exhibition on December 6, 2018, in Dimitrovgrad, Serbia. It is well-known that he is one of the most significant Belgrade photographers and his presence in the small border town (more popular in Bulgaria with its authentic name Tsaribrod) can without a doubt be defined as a big event. Karanovich started exhibiting at the beginning of the 1970s and his biography includes a large number of one-man, group and international shows, as well as numerous awards. In the period 1978 – 1997 he was Professor in photography at the Art Academy in Novi Sad, and since 1996 he has been Professor at the Belgrade academy.

If one defines Karanovich only as a photographer, who successfully “catches moments”, that would mean a big misunderstanding of his past, which at least in half was dedicated to visual arts, especially graphic arts. It is indicative that one of his latest exhibitions, entitled Without Pressure was about graphic art created by means of color photo process and without press. Thus he put himself in the mediating position of a contemporary artist, who uses the means of photography the ways he would use any other means of expression. On the other hand, his photo images are so convincing both in conceptual and technological aspect, that are liked equally by contemporary artists and professional photographers’ societies.

The photographs that are exhibited in Dimitrovgrad are from a series, in which the image does not seem to need any additional explanation in a label with a title. The intentional search for paradox situations (or their secret direction) leads to creation of works, in which the irony is slightly troubling. For instance, the armless mannequin dressed in a bridal gown, enclosed in an absurd glass construction, while in another photograph we see an anonymous owner of Zastava car, who had installed on the bonnet a metal badge of the ex-Yugoslavian leader Tito.

At the exhibition opening were present members of the Photography atelier at the National Academy of Art, Sofia, who invited Professor Karanovich to exhibit in Bulgaria. Who knows, this may be the beginning of collaboration between the academies in Sofia and Belgrade in the field of photography as well.