The Infertile Grounds series of photographs are marked by trauma, historical events and human experience. The locations in the photographs are not just beautiful landscapes but sites that have gained strong symbolism due to their historical context and the fact that they have in one way or another, contributed to the formation of Croatia’s national identity.
Woods, fields and rivers that are part of Croatia’s folk tales and myths have also become part of a rhetoric legitimizing political discourse and ideology. Changing circumstances have altered the meaning of many events regardless of the fact that the places where they occurred, even with human intervention, have remained the same; bare, and similar to any other place where nothing significant has ever happened.
The title Infertile Grounds refers to our inability to face the ghosts from the past and move on. Instead, we are stuck in the same vicious circle of mutual hatred and accusations.
(Sandra Vitaljić)

In her photographs, Sandra Vitaljić shows us what is. She is clearly concerned and bothered by the infertile grounds. They do not have to remain barren. Meanings will constantly be inscribed into them, and if this is done with the intention of revealing everything, of not passing over anything in silence, there is no need to fear. We must not let history suffocate us, just because we cannot cope with the present.
(Tvrtko Jakovina)

Sandra Vitaljić (1972) whose artistic practice mostly resolves around photography as autonomous artistic medium is one of the most prominent Croatian contemporary artists. She took her master’s degree in photography and doctorial course in the history and theory of photography at the Academy of Performing Arts, Film and TV in Prague (FAMU). She is employed as associate professor at the Cinematography Department of the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb. As an independent artist in the field of contemporary photography she is active locally and internationally. She lives and works in Zagreb.

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