My current approach to experimental photography explores how time and memory can be distilled into a single image. Through the use of multiple exposure techniques, I construct compositions from fragments of everyday life, on the streets, within landscapes, or in the studio. While the main subject remains recognisable, overlapping layers spill into one another, creating a sense of the persistence of memory and enriching the mood.
I experiment with long exposures, intentional blurring, and traditional captures, seeking ways for movement and stillness to coexist within the same frame.
My background in the motion picture and television industry, where sequences unfold through duration and rhythm, has shaped my interest in expressing time within a still image.
The final stage of my process involves building the physical surface and bringing each piece to life. I often refer to this stage as sculpting the surface. Every sheet of paper is handmade, individually crafted rather than taken from a uniform stock. I stabilise it with multiple layers of emulsions, coatings, and textures, all applied by hand. Once prepared, the paper acquires substantial weight and density, onto which I print the final image using pigment ink directly on the textured surface. The surface holds a subtle depth and irregularity, and as light shifts throughout the day, these variations interact gently with the image. Time appears to move across the surface, quiet, gradual, and almost imperceptible. Each work is then retouched by hand if needed, varnished for protection, and displayed without glass so that the surface can be seen and felt directly. It has taken me years to refine this process, and I continue to evolve it through new subjects, photographic experiments, and an ever-deepening engagement with it.
To be fully appreciated, the final pieces need to be seen in person. Their subtle textures and slight three-dimensional qualities are difficult to convey on a screen, where their depth and presence are inevitably lost. Viewers often remark on how much more alive the works appear when encountered in real life.
Besnik Mehmeti
Born: 1971
Birthplace: Skopje, Northern Macedonia
Living and working in London, UK
Published work:
1990 Kosova conflict
Evening Standard
Scotsman
Irish times
Die welt
Top Hotel
2016 Iraq War
Documentary
AlJazeera
Selected Exhibitions:
2018 Bromley Library, London UK
Bromley Camera Club annual exhibition
2019 Bromley Library London UK
Bromley Camera Club annual exhibition
2019 Ross Cup 2019 Award winners exhibition
Kent County Photographic Association, UK
2019 O.S.D. London UK
2020 Award winners Landscape Photographer of the Year’ UK Tour
2023 Dulwich Artist Open House
2023 Under the Rainbow, Blue water
2024 Landmark Art Centre
2024 Reporters House
2025 The National Library of Kosovo
2025 Horsebridge gallery Whitstable
2025 The Shard, London Bridge