I was trained as an experimental psychologist and artist at the University of Belgrade and the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. My doctoral (Ritsumeikan University, 2009-2013) and postdoctoral (Kyoto University, 2013-2015) work in Japan focused on incorporating these two disciplines through the psychophysics of illusions and neuroscience of aesthetics; sitting at the cross-section of vision research and studies of art reception.

My research in the consumption of arts is focused on solving a centuries-old conundrum: what makes paintings aesthetically pleasing - their style or their semantic content? I use machine learning and eye-tracking techniques to explore individual preferences for visual art. The goal of my research is to offer automatic feedback about observers’ aesthetic preferences and predict their future choices. If successful our technology will enable museums, galleries, and immersive media to offer 1:1 curatorial service without increasing the cost of hosting art exhibitions.

I co-lead the development of a new digital tool informed by vision science to support inclusive art and architectural design. TRIAD (Toward tRanslational Inclusive Art & Design) enables testing how people react and interact with art and interior design that is still in the stage of planning through virtual reality by quantifying physiological signatures and body movement of engagement. Our partners are the Temple Quarter Team, We The Curious, MyWorld partners LDA design, Watershed, and Knowle West Media Centre, CAMERA (University of Bath). Academic collaborators include Prof Ute Leonards, Dr Laszlo Talas, Prof David Bull, Martha Crean. The University’s future Story Exchange space at the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus will serve as use case for the tool; thus, offering an unprecedented opportunity to Bristol’s diverse communities to gather insights into their own personal reactions to different designs and to directly influence the final design choices for Story Exchange.