27.2. – 8.3. 2024

In cooperation with the Serbian Cultural Association – Serbian Library “Mihajlo Pupin” in Ljubljana, we are organising a pop-up exhibition entitled “Those Were Some Better and Happier Times” by Dragan Teodorović-Zeko, a well-known Serbian photographer. For more than 40 years, he has been following the most famous bands of the Yugoslav rock scene and creating memories from their unforgettable concerts. The exhibition is unique in that it shows the spontaneous emotions of the audience during the concerts themselves. In a unique way, the artist has captured their tears, laughter, anticipation, delirium, the positive tension that is created between the audience and their idols in those moments when they have the chance to experience them live. Thus, in his photographs, it is the audience, the fans, who are the main motif, and through them the photographer shows us in a plastic way the range of emotions, situations and reactions that are triggered among the audience at concerts, and in this way, if we pay attention, we experience a unique journey in time and in the audience’s feelings.

The gallery will also present his photographic monograph of the same name, which was produced in the context of the exhibition and in which he has broadly embraced his work, which was mainly produced in the 1980s. The book is also already available for purchase in the gallery, as well as on our website. The foreword was written by rock critic Peca Popović and the review by Bora Đorđević, author and frontman of Riblje čorba.

Dragan Teodorović – Zeko has had dozens of solo and group photography exhibitions in Serbia, France, Switzerland, Argentina, Poland… He is, among others, the author of the excellent photomontography “Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra”, and now he is presenting himself in Slovenia for the first time with his exhibition and photomontography “To je neko lepše i srećnije vreme” (That was a brighter and happier weather). So far, the exhibition has toured to Belgrade, Kragujevac, Novi Sad, Podgorica, Trebinje…, and after Ljubljana it is travelling to Skopje, Budapest and other places.

The author of the photographs, Dragan Teodorović – Zeko, said:

“The aim of the exhibition is to bring feelings and emotions closer to the younger audience through photographs, and to remind the older audience of a more beautiful and happier time. Well, now… What time is it?! It’s all in the eye of the beholder. For someone it’s the 1980s, for someone it’s the time up to the advent of mobile phones, social networks, epidemics, big ugly wars… For me, as the author of this exhibition, it’s the time from the mid-1980s to the end of the 1980s. First of all: this is the time when I go on tour and come back home after 100 days. At that time, these were big bands and the country was big. Nowadays, the notion of touring does not exist, because after every concert you can go back home to sleep. Both the size of the concerts and the size of the country you live in do not allow a few shows to be called a tour. Now it’s called TEZGA.”

Delo – article

24ur – article

The exhibition is supported by Serbian Cultural Association.