“I work slowly, observing the same place over time, always reveling in the detail. Whenever possible, I return to the same place time and again, seeing it anew each time. For me, the places and things I photograph are rich with mystery, meaning, metaphors. They inspire me to continue to search and question. I try to express this emotional resonance and some elemental truths in my printed works.” — Svjetlana


Born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina), Svjetlana Tepavcevic witnessed the bloody breakup of her country in the early 1990s, and lived through the war and siege of her hometown. She now lives in the United States. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Master of Arts from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

Contemplative, interpretive, and uniquely expressed, Svjetlana’s work explores her surroundings through detailed and long-term observation. Her prints are richly and boldly expressed, centering on the emotional resonance of her subjects.

A three-time finalist for Photolucida's Critical Mass Award, her work was exhibited at photo-eye Gallery in Santa Fe, NM and the Griffin Museum for Photography in Winchester, MA. Communication Arts Photography Annual, The New Yorker, New Scientist, Wired and PDN have all featured her photographs. Her prints are in the collections of corporate institutions, private collectors and museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the High Museum of Arts in Atlanta and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.