Harlequeen Gothic was born from the ruins of Southern Serbia's golden-age textile industry, local folklore, and our pervasive 21st-century depression.  Created by photographer, textile designer and filmmaker Jovana Dimitrijević (with roots in performance and body art), the genre hails from Leskovac—historically known as the 'Little Manchester', a once-thriving textile empire— drawing heavily on the city's crumbling industrialist villas and melancholic landscapes. Long before taking physical shape in galleries, the visual identity of this movement was curated and published on Vogue Italia’s Photo Vogue platform starting in 2016. 

By finding beauty in the decay of her homeland, the artist established and solidified the Leskovac Gothic genre through a defining photographic exhibition at the Cultural Center of Belgrade in 2023.

Expanding on this eerie universe, the artist's short fantasy film Lodger won the Best Director award at the Festival of Serbian Fantastic Film in 2020. Harlequeen Gothic continues to navigate our global 21st century anxieties.