Serbian artist makes world's biggest portrait of Novak Djokovic, says 'the planet is ruled by him'
Saying that Novak Djokovic is the most famous sportsperson in Serbia would be a huge understatement. The World No. 1 is greatly adored in his native country, with legions of fans in every nook and corner.
One such fan, an architect and street artist by the name Andrej Josifovski (also known as the Pianist), has immortalized his love for Novak Djokovic by creating the largest ever portrait of the 17-time Slam champion.
The portrait is 24 meters in length and 11 meters in width, covering an area of 264 square meters. It has been created on a clay court in Belgrade, and stands as impressive testimony to the support that Novak Djokovic enjoys in his home town.
The portrait goes by the name "Slaging the Court", and is part of the "Let's clean ourselves first, then let's look at others" project. The aim of the campaign is to extend support to Novak Djokovic, whose Adria Tour fiasco has made him the focal point of criticism from tennis players, experts and fans.
Josifovski, while lauding the brilliance of Novak Djokovic, said that the work done by the Serb around the world is beyond words, and deserves the highest of praise.
"Novak is a man who has an exceptional brilliance. He visits our dreams and is a motivation for all of us. It is difficult to find such great words to describe him."
The artist, who worked for six hours to make the portrait, went on to describe Djokovic in near-mythical terms.
"I will quote on this occasion my friend Srdjan Timarov, who said the following: 'All of you who have no gift to you see his light, you will remain there, in the darkness of his shadow. 'Well, that's Djokovic'," Josifovski said.
Novak Djokovic is a great tennis champion: Serbian artist
Josifovski, who played tennis as a kid, said that not everyone adores sportsmen the way they should be. That may have been a dig pointed at Novak Djokovic's critics in the Western media, who have been the subject of much derision from Serbian athletes lately.
"Unfortunately, not everyone experiences sports and champions in the same way," Josifovski said. "There are those who do not respect the results enough and consider themselves worthy to comment and belittle the best among us, especially those born in the West."
The artist believes that Novak Djokovic is the best tennis player in the world, and that people outside Serbia are envious of that fact. He further said that Djokovic's critics can go to any lengths to belittle his achievements, both on and off the court.
"Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for us, it happened that small Balkan Serbia produces one great tennis champion, the best in the world, Novak Djokovic, which only countries that think they have been given the right to rule the world should 'have', because the smartest and strongest people are always born in them. And in their efforts to explain how they are always and in everything right, not Novak, things have gone too far."
Josifovski decided to make the portrait of Novak Djokovic on a tennis court because that is the place where Serbia's favorite son showcases his talent all across the globe. He also referred to the period before Novak Djokovic's advent on the tennis scene as 'dark'.
"I went out on the slag field, with a brush in my hand to slag a little, because sports fields are magical places, as well as magic mirrors, and when they are polished, they tell the truth and only the truth. It was still dark, which I can confirm and satellite images, when Novak appeared on the field," Josifovski said.
Lauding Novak Djokovic for his humanitarian efforts as well as his prowess on the tennis court, the artist said it was unfortunate that the World No. 1 was facing so much backlash.
"Soon the sun came out to pay homage to him. It is true that the planet is ruled by Djokovic, the only and the first, and the stars have known this for a long time. That's how important brushes can be and what kind is the importance of purification, not only for sport," Josifovski said.
"A man who gives his heart and to those who whistle to him. It is not enough to say a winner, an ambassador, a humanist, a benefactor and a man for the pride of the nation. Honestly, I feel sorry for those martyrs who throw stones at him. Only dogs know how hard it is to bark at the stars," he added.
Talking about how he executed the portrait idea, Josifovski said that replicating Novak Djokovic's facial contours was the toughest part of the exercise.
"Perhaps the most difficult part was drawing the entire space according to a pre-conceived scheme. It took me over an hour. Then I did the contours, and then turned to the details. The most demanding was drawing the eyes, nose, mouth, shading the face."
Describing Novak Djokovic as an inspiration, Josifovski said that it was the first time he had attempted something of this kind.
"Finally you had to use extra bags of slag for Novak's hair, in order to tint it as darkly and visibly as possible. Everything was done with the help of brushes. Although it was my first time doing something like this, I believed that I would succeed, because Novak is a great inspiration and it is a great honor to be able to do something for him."
The artist also thanked the tennis club in Belgrade that provided him all the facilities required to complete the portrait.
"So it was not difficult for me to give my best and finish my work. I would like to thank the hosts from the Dukic tennis club, which gave me at my disposal everything I needed, and I also thank my friends who were with me all night and wholeheartedly helped me."
Josifovski would next like to make a similar portrait of Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros or any other clay court to drive home how much respect and appreciation he has for the legend.