Bojan Mrđenović

Magistrala

Jadranska magistrala je državna cesta koja se proteže istočnom obalom Jadrana povezujući sva priobalna mjesta. Puštena je u promet 1965. godine i predstavlja kapitalni infrastrukturni projekt koji je prometno povezao teritorij i dao zamah razvoju turizma na jadranskoj obali.

Welcome

2008-2012 // The interiors of abandoned village houses in continental Croatia due to depopulation and urban migrations.

The Spa

2011 – 2014 // The series of photographs was made over a period of several years and it shows life as observed in a spa. The bathing and spa complex was built in 1980. Socio-economic circumstances have significantly changed since then, and it appears that it currently doesn't fit into the vision of Croatia as a luxury tourist destination. Caught in the cobweb of time, it sticks out like a relic of a past system. Movement through the space leaves an impression that the people and the space are organically linked, that the processes evolve in their own slow rhythm, unencumbered by issues of national economy. Focus on relaxation and body care reflects a system of social care, which seems to be disintegrating slowly but surely in favour of personal development and individuality.

Adriatic Postcards

2013 – 2014 // The project “Adriatic Postcards” is a photographic field research of derelict hotel complexes along the Adriatic Coast (Kupari, Plat, Krvavica, Primošten, Jelsa and Malinska). These hotels—which were built as the result of social planning, at a time when tourist vacations were intended for all social classes—now find themselves caught in a transitional process: from social to private ownership. Now, in their derelict state, they are being re-evaluated as attractive locations for foreign capital as they are destined to be transformed into elite complexes with limited access. The photographs follow the aesthetics of representable and attractive postcards thereby addressing the broader spatial context of the abandoned hotels.