Embracing the complexity of being human, Ivana Besevic creates digital portraits that don’t glamorize or glorify. She doesn’t shy away from sadness or pain, and she doesn’t smooth over the red splotches and tear streaks on her subjects’ faces. These are real people with real feelings—many of them directly engaging the viewer with an open, vulnerable gaze. She aims to go beyond beauty, into “something psychological, fearful, dramatic, dangerous,” she said in an interview. On her website, she says she’s inspired by “everyday stories and ordinary people. I like the complexity that we have and I love to go beyond prejudice.”

Images © Ivana Besevic