My photographic work often focuses on the so-called neuralgic urban zones; it memorialises long-ago destroyed and forgotten spaces and their melancholy beauty, pointing to their possibly different futures. These spaces date mostly from the 20th century, especially from Socialist Yugoslavia, which is why I use analogue technology, thereby conveying the authentic atmosphere of the time. I try to stimulate different developmental imaginings, memories of long-forgotten promises, and ideas about continuity, rationality, and the anthropocentricity of urban space that never lose touch with work, culture, and leisure.

A series of analogue photographs, VILLA DALMACIJA, presents a complex known also as Tito’s Vila, located by the sea in the protected area of the Marjan Forest Park, Split. VILLA DALMACIJA was built in 1914 as the first guesthouse in Split, but it does not meet contemporary hotel requirements. After WWII, the central building, along with the accompanying houses and a park of approximately 57,000 m2, was turned into a residence for Tito, the Yugoslav President. The ground floor and the interior of the first floor of the central building are mostly preserved and, as such, bear witness to life during socialism. Besides, the interior appears very modest considering the fact that it was designed for a “Communist dictator” which is today’s popular right-wing definition of Josip Broz Tito. The entire area has since been closed to the public despite the fact that all Communist walls in Europe collapsed more than a quarter century ago and that the complex belongs to the State and therefore to the citizens.

My intention is to strengthen the perception of Villa Dalmacija as a space of unrealised cultural and identity potential, which seems possible through public cultural services, e.g., its programmatic activity as an artistic residence open to the public and organised by a wide network of cultural-artistic institutions.

These artistic imaginations, as well as all other anticipated public services in this space, regularly face resistance from real estate developers who are exerting pressure on local authorities to transform the protected area of Marjan Forest Park into a construction zone. This scenario would expose Villa Dalmacija to further neglect and the possibility of enlargement of its accommodation capacity, which would certainly transform it into an unrecognisable facility.