Urban Landscape: Dubrovnik

The project Urban Landscape: Dubrovnik by artist Dorinda Bulić-Čotić is a long-term visual investigation of urban space, initiated in 2016 through the documentation of ATMs installed in the historic center of Dubrovnik, particularly along Stradun, the city’s main street and symbolic social artery. These inserted elements, implemented without sensitivity to their context, disrupt the architectural continuity and aesthetic coherence of the space, while simultaneously reflecting broader processes of touristification and commercialization.

The work develops as an artistic critique of the existing condition within the programmatic framework of grey) (area and its thematic line Critical Tourism. It is especially relevant in the context of towns such as Korčula, which often model their tourism development on Dubrovnik while neglecting its negative consequences, loss of authenticity, degradation of public space, and the marginalization of local residents’ needs.

The artist observes changes that gradually and almost imperceptibly infiltrate the urban environment, yet produce lasting effects. These transformations, although often inherently intrusive in their logic of spatial exploitation, become part of everyday life and are passively accepted. Shopfront views along Stradun reveal a dominance of visual banality, uniformity, and commercial aggressiveness, where the proliferation of ATMs and similar elements acts as a symptom of a deeper misunderstanding of cultural and spatial identity.

The project moves beyond documentation, functioning as a study of the relationship between the town and its inhabitants, as well as the community’s relationship to its own environment. Photography is employed as an analytical tool, a medium through which personal spatial experience and broader social paradigms of contemporary urban life are examined. In this sense, the work does not merely interpret a visual phenomenon, but investigates its meaning within global patterns of consumerism and tourism-driven economies.

The central question remains open: is the ultimate loser the historic city as a cultural entity, or its inhabitants, who accept these transformations without critical engagement? The project thus raises a broader issue—that survival is not merely about endurance, but about how one lives and relates to the space one inhabits.

It is important to note that, following municipal regulations introduced by the City of Dubrovnik in 2019, 23 ATMs were removed from the historic center, including eight from Stradun. The new guidelines stipulate that ATMs must not damage cultural heritage or the architectural character of buildings, prohibit their clustering or placement on historic façades, and require visual neutrality—allowing only the operational components (screen and keypad) to remain visible, while eliminating illuminated and advertising elements.

The exhibition can be accessed through personal mobile devices at Korčula’s St. Mark's Square. This digital art presentation format is organized by the grey) (area and realized in cooperation with the Korčula Town Museum and Format C. The Wi-Fi Gallery grey) (area has been set up on Pivilion, a free and open operating system developed by Dina and Vedran Gligo of Format C. The wireless local area network (WLAN) is publicly accessible and automatically displays digital artwork to anyone connecting to the Wi-Fi network, without a password or further action.