Filip Filković makes amazing Little Zagreb with his camera and a lot of imagination and skill.
To us, people from Zagreb, Zagreb is always beautiful, no matter how much we keep silent about it!
But Filip Filković Philatz decided to put his love for Zagreb in a completely different context; Little Zagreb!
Little Zagreb is actually magic.
c2go: Philip, what kind of magic?
For me, as you say, magic is everywhere; it is in forests, mountains, meadows, cities. We just have to look for it. We need to know how to disconnect from that everyday life to see the magic of life surrounding us. There are beautiful and ugly things in our lives, there are decays, but from that decay, a new life is created, warmth, cold, everything is connected. I think these works talk about all this together but within our Zagreb. Of course, Zagreb is a special place for me, I was born there, and I have a unique approach to it – I am glad that I had the opportunity to point this out through this project.
c2go: How did this come to your mind?
I don’t want to claim that this project was created consequently because of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but it’s because I had free time within that life period. The idea has been with me for some time. By observing these small spaces next to and around our homes and buildings, I wanted to see what a small world would look like inside this big one. It’s is how the first sketch was created. I copied on the curb what I saw on the building in front of me. As if the same building had been created in a smaller format. In fact, it’s like a window into some little parallel universe.
Filip Filković makes amazing Little Zagreb with his camera and a lot of imagination and skill.
c2go: Where can we see that?
For now, only online, digitally; these are more sketches. I post them periodically on my Instagram @philatz and Facebook. Of course, the media help a lot here because they also publish these works, and I appreciate that. It has spread a lot in a short time, and reading the experiences of observers of these works is also an unforgettable experience. Through these conversations and comments, I feel that suddenly people are happy and unburdened, and it makes me glad.
I think it’s time for us all to take a break; if my series of works is that, I’m even happier.
c2go: What about the live and real Little Zagreb?
We have started a dialogue with the Tourist Board of the City of Zagreb, and I would really like this project to be realized on the spot. I’m happy with the response, and even that is a big deal. I didn’t want to do anything on my own, i.e., illegally. I’m sure that ten years ago, for sure, I would have done this on the street, illegally, as a separate street art project – even a bit rebellious. But now, I wanted to start a dialogue and create awareness about this project. Also, I believe that the project should be taken seriously and implemented to the end.
Hopping that Filip will ‘realize’ our Little Zagreb, we walk the miniature streets and dream about
happy families behind the lighted windows …
