Joco Žnidaršič

Slovenia’s legendary photojournalist Joco Žnidaršič belongs to the country’s oldest generation of photographers. As long-standing photography editor at a major national newspaper, he played a vital role in fostering visual sensibility in journalists, establishing high standards of press photography and encouraging young generations of photographers who worked for the Delo daily. The thirtieth anniversary of Slovenia's declaration of independence is an ideal opportunity to delve into Joco’s extensive oeuvre and display a representative selection of photos made during 1988–91 with a view to presenting how his images served to record the period that ushered the country into an age of great societal change. With his camera, Joco recorded virtually all watershed moments in those breakup years: from the JBTZ affair and massive demonstrations in the Congress Square, the Republic Square rally, Gorbachev in Slovenia and the last Congress of the League of Communists, the rallies for Slovenia, the referendum and the presidential elections, to the Brioni Agreement and the beginning of war. In some cases, when no other photographer was in the field, Žnidaršič had access to exclusive news: these pictures have a special documentary and archival value. In addition to famous historical scenes, the exhibition features a series of photographs that reveal, with exceptional visual eloquence and sensitivity, the photographer’s true humanistic character.