Zvonko Maković on work of Darije Petković

I discovered Darije Petković’s photography about two years ago in the pages of newspapers. What I liked about it was how easy the photos stood out from most of the other artists, and how they achieved this in very subtle way. Darije Petković is not a photographer who prances his so called “strong personality” in a narcissistic way. Quite the contrary. I would rather say that he is an extremely sensitive observer who discovers these fine substances in the scene he films, putting the weight of his poetics on the very subject. From the choice of subjects to technical properties, we are dealing with a true virtuoso artist, who will discover the distinction of the motifs even in the places where most people would fail to recognize it. In his photography, he will draw most important effects from light, texture, often from a very long exposition which will give a special softness to the scene. What Petković insists on is a more complex narration, which does not exhaust itself in fast and individual recordings. He is interested in sequencing, a series of scenes bound in a connected narrative and visual whole.

Apart from systematically filming for newspapers and magazines, Petković sees exhibitions as a distinct challenge. At his exhibitions so far he has shown exclusively photographs with a joint theme: he places them next to each other, so that you can clearly recognize the narrative strings which make a rounded story. The Carmelites from Liverpool, is one such whole, body, that is, a mother and child second, Jerusalem the third. The latest photography series is tied to the circus, and was created during the last two years. The scenes in this series Petković filmed according to a previously provided template: he tried to first get his own personal view of the fragments from the everyday life of the circus, and then to point out several associations which the circus theme connects with similar scenes from films and photographs. He worked on it laboriously, systematically, precisely and with a clear awareness of what he's recording. This is something which can easily be called a work in progress, a piece of work which is created over a long period of time, but with clearly defined markers. Photographs from this exhibition can be divided into two groups: one group represents the photographs where Petković shoots the protagonists in such a way where you can clearly see that they are aware of being filmed, they are aware of being in front of the camera. Their awkwardness, sometimes a feeling of discomfort, make the posing additionally touching. The costumes they are wearing, whether its show costumes, or regular poorly tailored retail suits, add to the impression of unusualness. The other group of photos is the one where the photographer shot in secret, approaching them unannounced, trying to capture the scene at any cost. This is especially noticeable in the seemingly unbalanced composition, in shifts within the frame, which make the photos exceptionally vivid and convincing.

Even though everything is familiar, clear in Petković's photos, everything matches the assumption which we have about the life in the circus, the final impression is shifted from the norm. Actually, they all look like scenes from another time. The fact that he makes black and white photographs, and that he makes them in a way done by photographers from ancient times, it is undeniably extremely important for the final effect. In this purposeful escape into a time long gone, into scenes which we recognize from old photographs and movies, there is not a trace of sentimentality. It would be naïve to look for a consistent story in Petković’s scenes from the circus; one which would be connected only through literary bonds. Petković sees those bonds and finds them in the important level of his medium – the visual one. Through framing, spatial organization, light distribution and light effects, he achieves full expression. This means we are talking about an artist who, coming from the expressive potential of his medium, finds in it all the important components to build his artistic personality.

Associations to scenes from the circus by the great master Tošo Dabac, are of course the most direct ones. However, here Darije Petković mainly approaches the generation of Zagreb photographers of late seventies, early eighties, which we know under the name Polet photography. These were the artists who developed in the cult youth paper Polet, and who radicalized the medium of photography in all aspects: from the subject matter to technique. These were the photographers, who were not afraid of passion, who captured fragments of lives lived intensely, who discovered all the fullness and layers of time and existence at the social margin. Petković's world from the margin is found in the circus, in people and animals who make this world. He does not film visitors who go there to seek entertainment, an escape from everyday life. Petković deals with authentic characters, authentic life, and therefore its possible to recognize him as today’s' most legitimate successor of the generation of Croatian photographers which formed a quarter of century ago.