Shooting the human iris using the practices I’d observed from these masters of photography was hugely beneficial to my learning and results. Not understanding the challenges involved from the outset, I hadn’t realized one of the biggest obstacles to master would be lighting. Taking time to experiment patiently, I am pleased with my end result.

Based on the challenges I came across shooting solely the iris, I had an idea to further the story and combine portraits with the iris. A further effort to portray the individuality of human beings. For this reason, I applied the focus to people’s differences. Their nationalities, ethnicities, family origins, and lifestyle choices. Based on my final images I can assert that the radius of origins is very similar.

My biggest surprise came shortly after when I started to complete the Census 2021 form. One of the questions posed was “How will you describe your national identity?”. This question was exactly what I wished to express from the beginning of my project planning. To my surprise, the answers were quite simple and vague. Most people would choose the option “OTHER”. After seeing this form, the title of my piece (UNIC) became a clear choice. It relates to a much wider group of people. It’s a subjective title, based on the mindset of the people, but it can represent the thinking of each person. Our own nationality is always much more important, and closer to our hearts, than others.

Being a perfectionist in my work, there’s always room for more. More experimentation, more trials and errors, and I will always find room for improvement. I did as much as possible during the ten weeks of the project, testing and playing with many techniques and styles. From color changes and adjustments, to, in the end, an almost total modification of the project. As I grow and learn as a professional in a department, in areas of photography, I become harsher on myself, and I constantly raise my own bar.

I would like to take the idea of National Identity further, develop it, and extend it in the future to create a gallery exposition. In the end, we are all the same.

Given that the project started right at the beginning of the pandemic, I was forced to conduct experiments on myself, which was very uncomfortable. Later on, I began photographing close acquaintances. My fiancée is a soprano, so with the relaxation of the rules, I chose to photograph music artists and theater and film actors. I decided to focus on Romanian artists because I work as a media manager in London, and we bring in the most popular Romanian artists. Access to them was facilitated by the profession I'm in, and after one came, it was like a domino effect. At this moment, I've decided to photograph high-achieving Romanian athletes in order to establish connections for myself outside of Romania. From female athletes to male athletes, I want to cover the entire globe. It's a project that will never be finished.

Initially, I only photographed the iris, but afterwards, I wanted to show more than just half of the eye. I want the viewer to also see a part of the subject's face. I consider myself a portrait photographer, so I love to show as much of the model I'm photographing as possible.

The title was chosen in Romanian, even though it holds significance in multiple languages. "Unico" is in Italian, and "unique" in English. I've always loved the uniqueness of individuals, whether through scars or tattoos. I cherish imperfections in people because I adore the idea of being unique.

The entire project has been and is supported by me. I chose a promotional approach by collaborating with artists, taking their photos in exchange for a tag at the moment of publication, and this way I grew organically. Up until now, I've invested over £85,000 in these three years. This includes flights, rented cars, food, hotels, and hundreds of hours spent editing in front of the computer.