Zorica Purlija migrated age 8 from Montenegro, to Australia in1972: As she learned to live in a different culture, she observed that the nuances of human interaction often were more revealing than the words leading to an interest in capturing human expression. 

Graduating with Distinction in 1989 with an Associate Diploma in graphic design and photography at The University of Western Sydney, Zorica spent some years travelling through Europe, experiencing life and art. She returned to Australia, began a family and devoted herself to full time mothering.  

Returning to photography in 1999, her recovery from post-natal depression propelled her back into making art, through the medium of photography. 

Her current practice has been focused around attachments, the psychology and space around our first relationship and how it impacts our future self. Her art is informed by feminist values and hopes to tap into our universal longings for equality. 

She continues to exhibit widely, and her public profile continues to build, including internationally, exhibiting in Chelsea New York, Zurich, and Venice. She has been a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Canberra, three years consecutively, three times in Sydney’s HeadOn Portrait Prize, a finalist in the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize Melbourne, Duo Magazine Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, The Kuala Lumpur Photographic Portrait Award., Mama Art Foundation Photography Prize in Albury, the Josephine Urlick Award in Queensland and the Olive Cotton Award for Portraiture in Murwilumbar NSW to name a few. 

She currently is finishing a part time Masters of Art in Photomedia at UNSW School of Art and Design Paddington.