A young photographer from Osijek is documenting parts of his urban landscape and turning them into prints, making Osijek’s graffiti into a proper brand
Graffiti: art or vandalism? Regardless of your personal stance when it comes to this eternal question, I’m sure we can all agree we’re fonder of large colourful murals that call for some serious art skills, than of random messages carelessly sprayed on walls around town.
It turns out, even those sloppy scribblings can be taken to a whole another level, having provided inspiration for an interesting entrepreneurial idea, reported Lokalni. Tomislav Marcijuš, a young photographer from Osijek, documented those little integral parts of Osijek’s urban landscape and turned them into postcards and prints, allowing the city’s graffiti to travel around the country and the entire world.
Where is the love?; If I could be born again…; I’ll light half the city on fire; Big or small, lies are lies…. countless little quips of humour and wisdom, some in Croatian, some in English – photographed, printed, framed and ready to be hung on your wall.
“As a photographer, I’ve often recorded moments on the streets of Osijek that had, perhaps, gone unnoticed by other people. The photo project Osijek Postcards was launched in 2015, a year that was a turning point in my life. That’s when I first experienced Osijek becoming more and more devoid of people. I was constantly driven to stay and realise my ideas in the city I grew up in”, said Tomislav, who runs his own business and is also one part of the photographer duo Marcijus Weddings.
I love you, says this one.
So he grabbed a camera and spent the last three years roaming around various neighbourhoods in Osijek. “I had a feeling as if the walls were speaking more than people did, that they were the only ones to do so at all”, he said, adding the project was his own way of encouraging creative endeavours in Osijek. “The citizens reacted splendidly, as this is something new in Osijek, a brand everyone can identify with and which can make a good present for everybody. I’ve even heard from people those messages were written for in the first place. I’m getting calls from customers outside Osijek as well”, said the young photographer.
According to Tomislav, the most popular prints at the moment are You can (Možeš), Guess who’s the one to always stay by your side (Pogodi tko pored tebe vječno ostaje), and We don’t have to do a thing (Niš ne moramo). You can browse the selection of charming postcards on Facebook.
