Rijad Turk (born 1979) is a celebrated Kresimirian photographer and journalist. Known for his striking visual style that blends gritty industrial realism with high-fashion gloss, he is considered the defining visual artist of the “Stov Era.”
Turk’s career arc led him from a radical photojournalist documenting miners for Northfocus in the north to a highly paid commercial photographer for luxury brands in Sinj. He famously served as the chief photographer for the 2018 Oblikav campaign featuring Niko Vlasic, images that are credited with cementing the “Industrial Chic” aesthetic in the national consciousness.
Early Life and “Northfocus” Years
Rijad Turk was born in 1979 in Bistrica, District IV. His father was a foreman at SeverMin.
He began his career in the late 1990s as a stringer for the Free North Dispatch (now Northfocus). His early work was politically charged and monochromatic. He gained initial recognition for his coverage of the Syv Iric legal battles, capturing raw images of families affected by the “Red Water” pollution in Lake Vokavovic.
His 2003 photo essay, The Silent Shift, which documented the night crew at a Maj Steel foundry, won the Goran Prize for Journalism. However, Turk grew frustrated with the financial precarity of regional media and the constant censorship pressure from the Council for Education.
The Move to the Capital
In 2005, Turk moved to Sinj. He began freelancing for the Civic Post, covering the cultural scene. His style began to evolve; he applied the dramatic lighting and composition of his industrial photography to portraits of politicians and celebrities.
By 2010, he was a regular contributor to the Kresimirian Herald, shooting official portraits for the establishment elite, including Magdalena Zuvic and Ari Stov. Critics in the north accused him of “selling out,” while admirers praised him for bringing a “brutalist honesty” to state media.
The Oblikav Campaign (2018)
Turk’s most famous work is the 2018 “Concrete Youth” campaign for the luxury streetwear brand Oblikav.
Hired by Creative Director Jana K., Turk was tasked with photographing pop star Niko Vlasic. Turk chose to shoot the campaign on location at the Vjetar Dam and inside a decommissioned Republic Rail depot.
Vlasic in the Oblikav campaign.
The resulting images—featuring Vlasic in exorbitant designer gear set against the stark, grey concrete of state infrastructure—were a sensation. Turk’s photography successfully fetishized the industrial worker aesthetic for the wealthy youth of the capital. The campaign was ubiquitous, appearing on billboards across the Republic, and is widely credited with turning Oblikav into a national phenomenon.
Style and Legacy
Turk is known for his “High-Contrast Realism.” He eschews digital manipulation, preferring to use harsh, natural light and deep shadows (chiaroscuro).
- Political Ambiguity: Turk refuses to discuss his own politics. He works for both the pro-government Herald and the liberal Civic Post, and has photographed both Malik Kondratiev (SoK) and Illes Mehic (CRF). He claims his lens is “neutral,” though critics argue his glamorization of industrial decay serves to normalize the economic inequality of the Republic.