Solo exhibition of photographs "Archive of Shadows" by the author Mateje Martinovic, graphic designer and photographer from Cetinje, was opened last night in the gallery of the Cultural Center of the capital Cetinje, where it will be available to visitors until January 23rd.
"The exhibition represents a combination of two photographic approaches - Urban Exposure and graphic art - through the contrast of reduced compositions and rich natural values. The photographs record abandoned urban spaces, traces of destruction and layers of history, maintaining the authenticity of the moment without digital interventions. Through this cycle, the author conveys the atmosphere of Cetinje, its cultural and historical heritage, but also the personal experience of the space that has strongly shaped her artistic expression," the statement states.
The author of the exhibition, Mateja Martinović, said that "Archive of Shadows" is a very personal project, born from her upbringing in Cetinje.
"The space of the city, its streets and old buildings are deeply woven into my personal and artistic identity, and these photographs are an attempt to preserve the atmosphere of the place that shaped me," she said.
The works, he says, were created without subsequent digital interventions, as an honest document of the moment, memory, and the transience of time.
Academic painter Jelena Vusurović She commented on the exhibition and the work of the young fellow citizen, and read her text at the opening. Gorana Kusovac from the Cultural Center. Vušurović pointed out that photographs do not function as mere records of reality, but as complex visual artifacts in which light and darkness collaborate in the construction of meaning.
"It is particularly emphasized that the shadow in this cycle becomes an archive of memory, transience and silence, opening up space for the observer's personal interpretation," the statement said.
Vušurović adds that the "Archive of Shadows" confronts the contemporary need for complete visibility and continuous archiving.
"Instead of a clear record, these photographs offer ambiguity. Instead of information, experience. They remind us that memory is not a stable structure, but a process of loss, transformation, and rereading... This exhibition demands slowness and silence. The shadows of an abandoned space do not preserve the past as it was, but the feeling that it once existed," the painter states.
Mateja Martinović was born in 2001 in Cetinje, where she graduated from the "Petar Lubarda" High School of Fine Arts, and is currently completing her undergraduate studies in graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Trebinje.
"In her work, she combines photography and graphic design, with a special focus on documentary and urban photography, and actively participates in cultural and artistic projects in the region," her biography states.
The musical part of the evening featured a violinist. Tanja Bogdanovic, whose performance further contributed to the atmosphere of the opening.
Bonus video:
