‘My safe space’: Kambah home with its own art studio and darkroom up for sale

As Iva Kraljevic talks about her life and the various photographs that adorn the walls of her Kambah art studio, you can’t help but notice the passion she has for her work.

The studio is an ode to solitude and stillness and a place where the Canberra photographer often retreated to when she needed to let her creative juices flow.

She converted the two-car garage into an art studio after she purchased the property at 97 O’Halloran Circuit in 2003. 

With its own glass panelled entrance, the small room is adjacent to Ms Kraljevic’s four-bedroom property, designed by renowned architect Gary Willemsen.

What she didn’t need to build, though, was her own darkroom to process images.

“The owner before me was a photographer as well, and coincidentally, he was my photography teacher at Narrabundah College in the 1980s,” Ms Kraljevic laughed.

As the tour of her home continued, into the darkroom we went where photography books abound, scattered throughout among an impressive collection of cameras.

Ms Kraljevic knew from the young age of 15 that she had a passion for photography. She enrolled at Narrabundah College to take all their art classes and then applied to go to art school.

She’d spend the next few years travelling to and from Sydney for various photography exhibitions.

“In my younger years, I was right in the thick of the art scene,” she said.

“I poured my heart and soul into my work. I was constantly looking for beautiful things that stood out, and sometimes, there were the not so beautiful things and that really influenced my work.”

Ms Kraljevic captured and communicated various messages about gender, religion and heartache.

Her favourite included Bride of War, a woman lying down, arms across her chest with her face obscured by bones. The photograph was influenced by a trip to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 during the start of the Yugoslav wars. 

“When you’re in a warzone, you unintentionally become a fighter, and this photo depicted what people dealt with there,” Ms Kraljevic said.

“This was a bride being married to a cause, giving up her whole life for what she’s fighting for, no matter the cost.”

While the art studio was an outlet for Ms Kraljevic over the years, she also spent time updating the rest of the house, including the kitchen, bathroom and outdoor deck.

It’s a bittersweet sale for Ms Kraljevic, who has decided to part with the home to move to rural NSW to enjoy a slower pace.

“I’m going to miss so many things, like spending my evenings on the deck with the trees providing so much shade, and coming here into the studio to draw, take photos and even read … this was my safe space,” she said.

“I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life here, but I just knew it was time for a change.”

Ms Kraljevic plans to build another studio in her new abode, hold photography classes for teenagers, and host exhibitions.