Dušan Ristić

The project · 2025–ongoing

My Beautiful People

Exploring the heart of conflict through art and stories.

Two figures on a hilltop, keffiyeh and tallit, children washing hands in the mud between them
V1.0 · Photography · 2025My Beautiful Peoplethe first staging

As a Romani artist from a community without a history of war, I'm diving into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to understand what drives human struggles. My unique perspective as a member of a stateless nation offers a fresh, unbiased view on this complex issue.

Through heartfelt interviews with people from Israel, Palestine, and their global communities, I'll explore daily life—food, fashion, traditions, beliefs, and faith. These conversations will highlight what makes each culture unique while revealing the shared values that connect us all, like resilience and hope.

Using philosophies of universal connection, opposing forces, and diverse perspectives, I'll study how power dynamics—like leading, following, and observing others—shape relationships in this conflict. These dynamics create personal and social struggles influenced by feelings of isolation, consumerism, and past experiences.

I'll focus on individuals with shared experiences, such as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, cancer survivors, people with special needs, or those who've lost loved ones to conflict. Their stories will show the universal threads of strength and connection that bridge divides.

Using these individuals as inspiration, I'll create bold photography, evocative paintings, and immersive performances that bring their stories to life. My art aims to honor the rich histories of the Palestinian and Jewish peoples while reflecting the complexity of their struggles. This project is a collaborative effort inviting artists, writers, dancers, musicians, and visionaries to join me — together, we'll create thought-provoking work that embraces tough questions, encourages conversation, and inspires hope for a shared future.

The series

A group seated close together under storm clouds — a boy in a tallit, a girl in a blue veil, and children in whiteTwo figures watch two children dig in the earth on a hilltop, under a grey sky

The Study

This study investigates the essence of conflict by delving into universal natural (cosmic) dynamics and archetypes from the unique perspective of a Romani artist, a member of a stateless and warless nation. Through rigorous empirical research, it examines the Jewish-Palestinian conflict as a compelling case study, offering profound insights into the forces shaping human strife from an external, unbiased vantage point.

Uncovering Shared Humanity in Conflict

I will delve into the intricate relationships of people from nations in war, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, through compelling interviews with individuals from opposing cultural sides. The questions will probe the essence of daily life — food, fashion, customs, beliefs, and religion — revealing what sets each side apart while uncovering the often-overlooked commonalities that connect each group.

Through Cosmic Monism, Dualism, and Pluralism, my artwork will explore how dominant, submissive, and observational power dynamics emerge and shift in conflict. These internal and external dynamics may be shaped by alienation, consumerism, and historical experiences.

This study will interview individuals from Israel, Palestine, and the Jewish and Palestinian diasporas who may also be inextricably linked by shared subcultures, values, beliefs, political views, or profound life experiences — such as LGBTQIA+ people, cancer survivors, community members with disabilities, or those who have lost loved ones to conflict. Through their stories, I aim to illuminate universal threads of resilience, connection, and shared humanity that transcend divides, embracing discomfort to spark constructive dialogue and growth.

Good News — a triptych: clouds, a group gathered in a tallit and white veils with a child in a blue blanket, and the bare earth
Photography · 2025Good Newssky · people · earth

Creating Art to Spark Dialogue

Using individuals from these conflicting cultures as physical models, I am eager to create provocative photography, art objects, paintings, and immersive performances.

As a Roma artist whose nation has never engaged in war, I seek to honor the deep lineages of the Palestinian and Jewish peoples, whose experience embodies the essence and complexity of conflict.

Together, let's create thoughtful, engaging work that reveals diverse perspectives on conflict, embracing discomfort to spark dialogue, foster collaboration, and transform perspectives for a shared future.

Figures against a weathered plaster wall in golden light — a woman and children, one holding crutches
Hopephotography · 2025
A girl stands triumphant on a stone at night in a colonial street, women around her, crutches resting on the ground
Lifephotography · 2025
Silhouetted figures in a warm-lit archway, crutches on a stone floor
Lightphotography · 2025
A Pietà — a figure in a tallit cradles a limp child across her lap, wrapped in blue cloth, under a bright sky
Photography · 2025Pietathe weight of the other
The artist in a keffiyeh, a self-portrait from the series The artist wrapped in both keffiyeh and tallit, a self-portrait
From the seriesself-portrait · 2025

An invitation

This is a collaborative endeavor.

The My Beautiful People Project is a vast, collaborative endeavor. I invite visual artists, writers, videographers, dancers, musicians, and visionaries to join me. If the work speaks to you, write to me.

Contributors

Welcome to the Heart of the "My Beautiful People" Project. This page celebrates every remarkable individual who poured passion, creativity, and support into shaping this vibrant vision. Drawn from all walks of life, their contributions — big or small — forge a brighter future together:

Jennileen Joseph, Rosa Blumenfeld-Romero, Zitha Ristić, Adriana Agudelo, Jorge Eliecer, Flor de Maria.

A sepia family photograph across four generations
LineageDušan's aunt, grandmother holding Dušan, great aunt and mother