Having launched her current series of photo books at Willesden Gallery in 2018, Olga Karlovac returns to London to present escape, a solo exhibition accompanying her latest edition by the same name.

The artist takes us on a visual journey through the streets of her Croatian hometown. Rather than documenting famous sights or recognisable characters, Olga Karlovac uses her camera to create lasting impressions of fleeting moments and emotions.

By blurring the lines between reality and poetic interpretation, and working exclusively in black and white, Karlovac’s photography takes on a dreamlike quality. Her abstracted images invite the viewer to linger, lose track of time as she leads us down winding streets, recognising the familiar within the barely there.

in the blink of an eye
in the moment between day and night,
somewhere at the edge of darkness and light
walking down an empty road below the mountain of memories
while strong winds from the north carve your marks all over my skin
i feel your breath
and i imagine…

Complementing her unique photography with short pieces of writing, escape concludes a trilogy of internationally acclaimed books.

From London the exhibition will move on to the Cultural Center Hasselt in Belgium in September and continue at 112 Gallery @ Nau Bostic in Barcelona from November with plans to extend the tour to include New York in 2022.

Covid restrictions allowing, the artist hopes to be able to accompany her works and is currently waiting for an update on quarantine requirements from 19 July. No private view or opening event has been scheduled for escape at Willesden Gallery, and we may confirm an event and opportunity to meet the artist at short notice.

Olga Karlovac lives and works in Zagreb. Self-taught and self-published, her work has been widely exhibited across Europe and the US.

Building on the success of the series, Karlovac has developed an online course to share her experience with other independent artists.