I pursue projects that capture my curiosity and meddle with my conscience. I try to engage with the people, objects and places of my reality in ways that challenge perspectives and unsettle the status quo, whether obviously or not. I work with a range of visual and textual materials to explore ideas and ask questions, frequently depending on participation from the public.

education / experience

Most recently, I have written and illustrated a children's picture book titled The Dust Bunnies and the Electric Broom, for which I am currently seeking representation. The book is a fantastical adventure story set atop the wooden floorboards of an anonymous apartment, and chronicles a marginalized dust bunny community's encounter with this unfamiliar foe. Detailed dust bunny illustrations are drawn on top of color photographs revealing the expressive side of dirt, hair, and miscellaneous lost objects and the peculiar dramas that unfold for this species of urban wildlife. The habits of humans take on new meaning in a curious underworld where dust bunnies are as real as the electric broom that threatens their future, and where cunning, ingenuity and collaboration are the keys to survival. I am excited to have found a product that creatively combines my skills and interests, and view this book as the first of many to come.

In 2010, I received an MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University, where my studies focused on culture and media and the Quechua language. I was awarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for the academic years of 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, as well as for summer study in Peru during 2009. My thesis discussed the social use and function of photography in and around Cusco, Peru, and was titled Social Practices of Vernacular Photography and the Articulation of Indigenous Identity in Peru. I also hold a BFA in Photography and a BA in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

In 2006-2007, I lived in Santiago de Chile, where I developed bilingual communications materials for the Chilean non-profit VEGlobal. I also worked with friend and photographer Lindy Drew to create OJOS nuevos, a digital photography program for young women living in children's shelters. Using donated cameras, we led workshops and curated exhibitions of our student's photographs at major art universities in Santiago de Chile. You may read about the program and watch the video on alucinora.

My professional experience involves a combination of visual, audio and textual media, including studio and documentary photography, website design and basic programming, print design and layout, podcasts and videos. I have worked in marketing and communications for multiple years, in both the private and non-profit spheres. I am fluent in Spanish and proficient in Quechua. I currently live in Brooklyn, NY.

If you would like to see more of my work, visit Dust Bunny Tales, Flickr, fotolego, and alucinora.

If you would like to contact me, you may email me at there.backagain[at]gmail.com

dust bunnies | Flickr | fotolego | alucinora | copyright © christine mladic 2001-2010. all rights reserved.