... the artist explores and documents some of the most distinctive architectural creations in the city of Pula where different layers of urban structure reflect its recent, turbulent history.

The series of photographs is part of a broader research and topographic project Pula: Interval City that was conceived and executed in close collaboration between the photographer Igor Zirojević, art historian Paola Orlić, and writer Dragan Velikić. Collectively they sought to highlight the distinctive urbanism of the city of Pula, which in structural terms is a very special place: it used to be a famous resort, strategic military base, and major port. However, in the last one hundred years Pula's cityscape has been subject to immense transformation caused by constantly changing socio-political conditions and rulers.
Zirojević's photographs focus especially on the “golden age” of the city i.e. the second half of 19th and beginning of 20th centuries, up until 1918 and the desintegration of the Austro-Hungerian empire when Pula became part of the Kingdom of Italy (later Republic of Italy, The Third Reich, SFR Yugoslavia, and Republic of Croatia). Through his motifs, the photographer underlines the functionality of architecture, how the buildings were used in new and different ways in the ever changing political context. Aside from the buildings themselves, Zirojević also photographs their inhabitants. Paola Orlić, on the other hand, explores micro-histories of certain buildings and their inhabitants through very personal storytelling...

Miha Colner