It’s time to enter Gothic realms with Serbain photographer Mirjana Grasser. Crafting herself a presence on Instagram, A Place For Us To Dream is the name of her new series of delicate images, which reveal a heightened awareness of shadow and light as they filter through woodland trees. As such, these images recall the beautiful strengths of silent-movie era Japanese cinema aesthetics, where striking scenic architecture meets emotional intensity.”

Heavily at play in her photographs are elements of gothic melodrama and melancholia, and an obsession with darkness. This is pure escapism, pursued through humble forms: using just her iPhone6 and a variety of apps, she is able to achieve her desired effect. In one, a faceless, cloaked figure haunts a fog-smothered landscape. In another, three women, their hair falling to obscure their faces, dance like Macbeth’s three witches in a smoky field. Slender bodies smoke cigarettes in a whirling cloud of ethereal textures. These women are distressed, and yet at home in the forests where their emotions can be reflected in the starkness of the trees. “I like that I can express personal feelings which in reality I can’t. I dream through my art,” she tells us.

The Plus: Can you tell us some information about yourself and your artistic/professional background?
Mirjana Grasser: I live in Serbia and run my family business, nothing arty, but I have always been fascinated by dark scenes, shadows, details, and like to express my deep emotions by photography. I am an Instagram fan and this is where I uploaded my first photos of shadowed landscapes from Samsung for my friends. Then I bought an iPone6, as suggested by my friend Ana Markovic known as ana.mar( instagram name) and began to play with apps. It all started as a hobby.

TP: What cameras do you use and for which purposes?
MG: For now I only take pictures with an iphone6 and edit them with many apps, such as Snapseed, Mextures, Vsco, Art Studio, Pixelmator and Image Blender. I plan to buy a Canon700d soon.

TP: What inspired ‘A Place For Us To Dream’?
MG: My personal feelings and dreams. I don’t like sunlight, I prefer autumn and winter, dark lights, and most of my time I spend in the woods. Usually I go early in the morning when there is a lot of fog and all is quiet. So, in my photographs are a women who enjoy the solitude in the wood and nature; there they can show their feelings and dreams. I am fascinated by beautiful natural scenes, like fog, darkness and branches. The quiet darkness and fog, which is still alive and fully functioning in the life of woods is what makes me feel content.

TP: How did you compose these images?
MG: While I walk through the woods I try to capture atmosphere and light. After that, I ask my female friends to pose for me in my garden. I like them to look sad, with eyes closed, usually in white or black clothes. And then I mix or blend those two. I play with different brushes in apps so women sometimes seem unreal and I can reinforce feelings that they show. My editing comes spontaneously so as to feel personal and I never know how it will eventually look like in the end. I also like to add the unrealistic effects.

Mirjana Grasser

Ana Markovic

Ana Markovic

How do you typically go about creating a piece?

Creating a piece is generally a long process for me. Sometimes I’m editing one photo for 10-20 days! I usually blend two or three images together and then I paint over it with different types of brushes. Occasionally I use photoshop but often I’m editing using my iPhone with the ArtStudio app and of course with Mextures and VSCO as well.

Walk us through your process with the picture above.

This piece is made up of two different photos. One picture of a girl (my best friend) that I often shoot in a studio and also a nature landscape. With this piece I remember using Mextures Landscape Enhance (Neutral Density) to create the black shadows. I believe that I blended this in Burn mode. And from there I just follow my senses. In order for it to look natural – like she is really there in that scene – and to sort of cover my tracks after blending photos together, I really enjoy digital painting with ArtStudio. When I feel like the image is done I leave it for a day. Then the next day I revisit it to see if I need to add or remove something. I know that when I get that special feeling in my stomach – a feeling of happiness and satisfaction – I know that the image is finished.

Can you tell us about how you typically use Mextures to help create or polish your artwork?

I use mextures to create texture on top of the photo. I love the effects that I can achieve with this wonderful app! I particularly love what I can achieve using the Grit and Grain and Grunge packs. My favorites overlays would have to be 120MM, Window Wash, Papyrus, Franklin and Tesla and I love blending with Difference and Screen modes. Mextures is always my final touch in editing and my favorite part of my editing process.

Are your pieces emotive in some manner or do you just start creating something with no final product in mind?

I have no idea how it will look when I’m finished editing. Whenever I get inspired to create something I just start editing a photo with no particular plan in mind. I just go with the flow of the process. My style sort of just came along by itself. It just happened. I make photos for my own taste and I don’t really worry about whether other people will like them or not. The most important thing to me is that I feel happy with the final piece. So in that sense I guess they are emotive in away.

I’ve always considered your feed to be a bit mysterious.  I think a lot of other people do as well.  The grain and the blurring and the painterly style.  Is that intentional?

Yes. I’m doing that intentionally to create a mysterious sense surrounding the picture. I’ve always loved mysterious movies and mysterious music so now I make mysterious images.  I think that some things in art cannot be explained – they just happen. There are elements that come out of the person creating the art as a product of his or her emotions, fears, dreams and desires. So there will always be aspects of the art that are a mystery to the observer.

Who/what are your biggest influences for your artwork?

My biggest supporters are my husband @nmsuba, my godmother @hylaaa, my mother and my good friend @coj3. I also find so many inspirations in the world around me. In nature, music, movie scenes, and of course in other artists, painters and photographers.

My favorite artists on Instagram are @eljacker_,  @oveck, @quiet.riot, @eliciaedijanto, @leahminium and @huseyintaskin. There are many more talented people on Instagram, but those 6 are very special in my mind.