On November 4th at 7 PM, the ‘Structures’ exhibition by photographer Željko Jelenski will open at the Media Library of the French Institute in Zagreb, showcasing the mysterious essence of the island of Pag through simultaneously enigmatic and revealing, deeply poetic photographs. The exhibition will be open until November 19, 2008.
Jelenski reveals the truly mysterious nature of reality, thus confirming that the camera is a particularly unique analytical tool. The Pag landscape, besides revealing its cosmic nature, indeed invokes reverie. The photographs of Željko Jelenski possess an exploratory and meditative quality, calming the feverish spirit and leading the viewer into deeper layers of their own personality like visual yoga exercises, thus affirming that unforgettable thought of Henry Miller: »The universe bathes in light; only in man’s soul is everything the same, miserable and black.« Indeed, how much we need to rediscover all the wonders of the world around us, which we do not see until a photographer stops us! With their fantastic content, these photographs confirm not only that the photographer has visualized Pag with the mastery of American professionals who have created a planetary myth from the canyons of Arizona (Wayne Davies) but also that he has created masterpieces within the framework of Croatian national photography. These are rare works of Croatian artistic photography that can stand on equal footing with those of world masters. After all, Željko Jelenski captured them with the observation of a warrior – a shogun – and the sensitivity of a poet.
Željko Jelenski
Artistic photographer, born on 23.11.1961.
Željko Jelenski is an eminent Croatian photographer who has been creating for twenty years. Jelenski belongs to a generation that grew up with the rebellious spirit of Zagreb’s New Wave, where art was not just a job or posing but truly a way of life. He is a top stylist and has held 30 solo and 13 group juried exhibitions to date. "He is a versatile photographer for whom every shot is an artistic unique, for whom nature is the most exciting challenge. Jelenski has a Japanese respect for nature in which the subject becomes the most lavish vision," says Marina Tenžera from Vjesnik about Željko. He has worked on many artistic projects from abstract to fashion photography and continuously publishes photographs with a rock theme. He has collaborated with many Croatian newspaper publications (Polet, Studentski List, Val, Oko, Maldina – (SLO), Studio, Danas, Start, Nedjeljna Dalmacija, Stil, Panorama, Dekor – (editor-in-chief and photography editor), Slobodna Dalmacija, Glorija, Globus…) in which he has published over ten thousand photographs to date. He is a member of ULUPUH and HZSU. Since 2005, he has worked as a permanent photographer for the business weekly "Lider." In 2006, he published a solo photo monograph titled "Awakening." That same year, he was awarded for the best work on the theme of Nature – FUJIFILM – Euro Press Professional Awards 2006. His photographic opus will be much richer as he continuously seeks subjects, finding his artistic fulfillment. He is currently working on a photo monograph of the island of Pag.
