Photographer Niccolò Natali continues his “no models” series with intriguing Milica. All shot at Hotel Slavija, Belgrade.
“She was dancing with a batman hoodie, the kind with batman logos patterned all over the fabric. And we both were at 20/44, half-way between a club and your living room, suspended over the Sava river and packed with people.
Well, she was just too natural and too damn beautiful to dance that way. That kind of naivety is something rare in girls like her. And I had it in my head that my “girl from Belgrade” would have really short hair, possibly dyed. So I stopped her.
Milica, with gypsy blood running through her veins, full and well-designed lips, deep and dark brown eyes, she has that look that makes you unsure of whether to run away or to stay and get paralysed.
One week later, we were choosing second-hand clothes together amongst godforsaken shops in the center of Belgrade. I was sure, but not entirely, that in the city (or nearby) I would have found an old, dirty, soviet-style motel where to pass a night, annoying the owner and doing a photo-shoot with her.
Well, she was just too natural and too damn beautiful to dance that way. That kind of naivety is something rare in girls like her.
After miles and miles by car, three or four beers, some google translations, and a few cigarettes, I was pretty sure there was no old, dirty, soviet-style motel—at least not one readily available for a foreigner like me. But I didn’t give up.
What I had been looking for, I ended up finding five-hundred meters from my apartment. It had just taken me some time to realise so. Hotel Slavija is the only one-star hotel in the center of Belgrade with suites and interiors that have remained the same since its inauguration almost forty years ago. That’s what the front-desk operator told me after a brief chat.
We arrived at 2 a.m., late on schedule, but the entire hotel was ours. We booked the 414 suite for one night with the promise that, at dawn, the staff would allow us on the rooftop, if necessary.
It was necessary.
While we were on the rooftop, I fucked up my 120mm film. This is what’s left from my digital camera.”
photographer: Niccolò Natali – nicnut.tumblr.com – vimeo.com/nicnat – instagram.com/niccolo_natali
model: Milica – www.instagram.com/21century_dante
