Dubrovnik – Lights and Darkness was created in the summer of 1994, after Dubrovnik had been freed from siege and the surrounding area had been regained, but while the war in Croatia was still ongoing. The consequences of destruction and loss were still deeply present, both in the city and in the people. Dubrovnik, normally filled with visitors, was unusually quiet and almost empty. This rare absence of crowds allowed me to photograph the city in circumstances that would be almost unimaginable today.
Rather than focusing on its familiar landmarks, I was drawn to stone walls, narrow streets, stairs, shadows, and the changing Mediterranean light. Without the constant presence of people, the city seemed to reveal another character - more intimate, solemn, and timeless.
The photographs reflect a tension between light and darkness, beauty and sadness, fragility and endurance. At that moment, Dubrovnik carried visible and invisible traces of recent history, yet the city itself seemed permanent. What remained before my camera was the City itself—silent and wounded, yet seemingly eternal.
FROM THE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Text by Tonči Šitin
"Throwing away the present pathos of inheritance, Maja Strgar Kurečić has gently and silently walked through Dubrovnik in some dreamy period of time, not trying to detect the final truth of that Gundulić´s and Držić´s town, but trying to retain along the way, a part of the space and time for herself. She searches for the lyrical and soft light, which focuses only on the margin, where we disappear in silence and speak with the stone together with the poets and romantic melancholic. And in that approach to stone, the art aspect of Maja´s photography is seen, photography which in its black and white appearance offers the luxury of chiaroscuro and reminds on the drama of baroque which runs through the streets, panoramas, stairs and walls of that old town. Stripped from all the darkroom tricks and various optical illusions, the photographs of Maja Strgar Kurečić testify that even with so called small motives, high level of art can be reached. Everything here is known, domestic and again somehow purified and brought into harmony which soothes and testifies of the seen beauty which is eternal…"
Rather than focusing on its familiar landmarks, I was drawn to stone walls, narrow streets, stairs, shadows, and the changing Mediterranean light. Without the constant presence of people, the city seemed to reveal another character - more intimate, solemn, and timeless.
The photographs reflect a tension between light and darkness, beauty and sadness, fragility and endurance. At that moment, Dubrovnik carried visible and invisible traces of recent history, yet the city itself seemed permanent. What remained before my camera was the City itself—silent and wounded, yet seemingly eternal.
FROM THE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Text by Tonči Šitin
"Throwing away the present pathos of inheritance, Maja Strgar Kurečić has gently and silently walked through Dubrovnik in some dreamy period of time, not trying to detect the final truth of that Gundulić´s and Držić´s town, but trying to retain along the way, a part of the space and time for herself. She searches for the lyrical and soft light, which focuses only on the margin, where we disappear in silence and speak with the stone together with the poets and romantic melancholic. And in that approach to stone, the art aspect of Maja´s photography is seen, photography which in its black and white appearance offers the luxury of chiaroscuro and reminds on the drama of baroque which runs through the streets, panoramas, stairs and walls of that old town. Stripped from all the darkroom tricks and various optical illusions, the photographs of Maja Strgar Kurečić testify that even with so called small motives, high level of art can be reached. Everything here is known, domestic and again somehow purified and brought into harmony which soothes and testifies of the seen beauty which is eternal…"
Scanned analog photographs from the series Dubrovnik - Lights and Darkness. The series consists of 30 photographs.
