Traces of Disappearing (In Three Acts)

Igor Grubić’s project, Traces of Disappearing (In Three Acts) (2006-2019) sits firmly in the humanist dimension of documentary photography, bridging poetics, politics, and social reality.

It consists of three interrelated photo essays and a new short animated film: it examines post-war, transitional reality in Croatia, particularly the shift from socialism to capitalism. Wild House, the first ‘Act’, examines changes in homes and living with the advent of the privatization of property; Filigree Sidewalk (Act II) looks into traditional vocations such as local handcrafts. Deconstruction of the Factory (Act III) presents a series of defunct factories, reminders of the transition from industry to post-industry.
The latter also became the setting for Grubić’s short film, How Steel was Tempered, which weaves together issues of worker history, family bonds, and generational shifts.