Igor Schiller (1996) is a Serbia-born artist based in Amsterdam. He graduated with a BA in Photography from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, in 2021. His work has been showcased internationally, including at Unfair Amsterdam, EYE Film Museum, Amsterdam Art Week, and the Photo Vogue Festival in Milan. In 2022, he was nominated for the FOAM Paul Huf Award. In 2024, he received the Mangelos Award, honoring him as Serbia’s best young visual artist.
Rooted in the rich traditions of his Balkan upbringing, Igor Schiller explores themes of cultural identity, memory, and how his childhood shaped his worldview. Revisiting his early years through his family archive, he blends fictional and subjective elements with elaborate set designs to create a photographic phantasmagoria - saturated with strangeness and gloom, yet contrasted with tenderness and warmth.
In his installations, Schiller transforms archives into monumental symbols of individual experience and shared history. He views toys, lullabies, games, and other remnants of childhood as historical artifacts that reflect the socio-political climate. By analyzing their influence on children’s content, he explores how they perpetuate cultural legacies shaped by rigid systems. Schiller constructs imaginary kingdoms populated by characters who serve as metaphors for his thoughts on identity, isolation, and belonging. Through humor, he creates a space for reflection, engaging with serious subjects through a lens of lightness and wit.