“My father has been involved in photography all his life. Although retired, he would always go for a walk with a camera.
My daily job was also photography, but as a photojournalist in a daily newspaper.
Mostly photography as assignment, sometimes boring.
I always took the same way, not paying attention to the environment, the goal was to get to work as soon as possible.
One day I saw my father’s photographs of the lower town of the Petrovaradin fortress, streets I passed every day. They were beautiful, but at the same time sad.
They depicted a decaying historic, baroque town. Facades fallen from houses, showing several layers of different colors. Old wooden gates falling appart. The ocassional pile of trash.
Most residents of the Lower town did not have means to maintain the houses, and the authorities did not care much about this part of the city. These photographs were published in the book The Forgotten City. It’s been twenty years since my father took those photos, and he’s long gone.
Facades and roofs in the Lower town of the Petrovaradin fortress are now being restored. It’s a completely different picture now, and I’m following my father’s path and taking photos. The photos are no longer so sad. The original splendor from 18th century has been restored.
I have learned to pay attention and appreciate my surroundings, and how important is past for present and future. The old and new photos are now next to each other in the new book, Awakened City.”
Author: Katarina Lazukić Ljubinković, photographer