Over the past few years, spanning from 2019 to 2023, my artistic exploration has been centered around a personal journey in Bucharest. From the moment I arrived there, I felt an unexplainable connection to the city. It welcomed me warmly, allowing me to roam its streets with ease, revealing its authentic and raw beauty. There was no facade, no pretense.
As I delved deeper into the city, I began to uncover its layers. Yet, it was the younger generation that truly captured my attention with their unique attitude, interactions, and fashion. They stood out in the crowd, and I was compelled to capture their spirit. It was both a refreshing departure from my usual subjects and a challenge to approach them.
The tension in these images mirrors the inner struggle I faced with each encounter and situation; yet, it also captures the vibrant energy of youth, the essence of life in an urban environment, and the magic of the unpredictable.
I found myself seeking doors to an alternate reality, one that existed beyond the facade of everyday life. It was an exploration of the unknown, a quest for the extraordinary within the ordinary—like a personal odyssey in a city that transcends cultural boundaries and becomes universal. As Fernando Pessoa wrote, “What we see is not what we see, but who we are.”

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Joakim Kocjancic, born in Milan in 1975, has a dual cultural background from Italy and Sweden. Since 2006, Stockholm has been his home. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Italy in 2002 and honed his craft with a master’s degree in photojournalism from LCC, London, in 2005. His formative years included extensive travel across Europe, immersing himself in the diverse cultures of Italy, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, and England.
Drawing from his foundational skills in painting, Kocjancic effortlessly translated these abilities into an expressive and graphic photographic style. Using exclusively black-and-white analog photography, he upholds the manual and organic traditions of painting. Rooted in neo-realism and classic street photography, he captures authentic moments.
Between 2006 and 2012, Kocjancic focused his lens on the streets of Stockholm, culminating in the book Paradise Stockholm, published by Journal in 2014. In the same year, he received a grant from the Swedish Arts Council. Paradise Stockholm was exhibited at Galleri Kontrast in Stockholm, FORMA in Milan, and Galerie Intervalle in Paris. A grant from the Swedish Writers’ Association led him to Cardoso (LU), Italy, where he spent six months documenting village life. The result was the book After the Flood, published in 2018 by Pacini Editore, Italy, and presented at the Photolux Festival in Lucca in 2018.
Kocjancic’s work has been featured in publications such as La Repubblica, The New York Times, Dagens Arbete, and ETC. His exhibitions include prestigious venues such as the Centre de la Photographie in Geneva, FORMA in Milan, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and various galleries across Europe. His ongoing project, Europea, carried out between 1999 and 2016, envisions an open, borderless Europe. Reflecting on his extensive travels across the continent, Kocjancic shares: "Europea is about searching for one’s own identity, and perhaps also about exploring what a European identity could be." The project won the Swedish Art Book Award in 2020 and first prize in the documentary photography category at the Rovinj Photography Festival in Croatia in 2019. The Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm acquired five prints for its permanent collection. Published by Bokförlaget Max Ström, it was designed by Lars Liljendahl and Eleonora Bergendal of La Strada Studio, Stockholm.