Riste
Andrievski

Born in Macedonia, Andrievski moved to Australia as an infant, settling in Wollongong with his family. He was raised speaking two languages, which at times confused his ability to verbally communicate, especially as he found one culture to dominate the other. He studied printmaking as a major at Wollongong University in a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Visual Arts. Through this, he became interested in photography, especially in regard to its strong pictorial narrative which Andrievski says enables story telling. This led him to study as a Graphic Reproducer in pre-press at TAFE, where he followed in the traditional film work of photography, making reproductions in print through film. He has held countless exhibitions within Australia, most recently at Stella Downer Fine Art. His works are held in the permanent collections of many galleries, including the Wollongong City Gallery, Gippsland Art Gallery, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery and the University of Wollongong Gallery. He has been the recipient of many awards and prizes including being a Visual Arts in the Valley Finalist (2022), Lethbridge Landscape Prize Finalist (2022) and a Percival Photographic Portrait Prize Finalist (2022). As well as being shortlisted for the Australian Photography Awards in 2017, 2019 and 2020. Most recently in 2022 received a honourable mention the the international photography awards.

Riste's photography presents a narrative of his life experience and a view of the world. It is through photography that Riste can communicate his mediations on identity via visual language. Raised speaking two languages, which sometimes confused my ability to communicate verbally, especially when select cultures are privileged to a dominant power over others. Therefore, by turning to a visual language, Riste can bypass this confusion, connecting with, and speaking to, his audience regardless of their language or culture. Riste's work centres on the notion of identity, but in particular the influence a landscape can have on a person’s sense of self. Further, Riste want's to explore the landscape’s effect on the formation of culture. A surrounding landscape is a significant aspect of the development and creation of our culture and with it the development of the individual. Landscapes change as a result of human activity, but so too do we, as a result of changes in the landscape. For over 25 years, my surrounds have been dominated by the escarpment of the Illawarra located in NSW Australia. In my photographic series, Riste engages with this landscape to interrogate his own sense of self, and the concept of culture.