The photo archive of Goran Pavelić Pipo contains over 15,000 negatives that testify of the new wave as an extremely dynamic period. The emergence of the new wave in Croatia or socialist Yugoslavia heralded the gradual easing of imposed ideological frameworks. One of the main features of the new wave was systemic critique and openness to values different than those propagated by the Communist Party. In Pavelić's photographs of new wave musical bands such as Azra, Film, Pankrt or Prljavo kazalište, a deviation from official values can be recognized. Since the new wave phenomenon was not limited to musical expression, Pavelić's collection also contains photographs of numerous writers, actors, comic-book artists, and random passers-by. Because of the variety of motifs and the large number of negatives, the photo archive of Goran Pavelic Pipo is a chronicle of people and events that shaped the urban scene of Zagreb from the late 1970s to the late 1980s.
The photo archive was not planned, but is the result of Pavelić's passion for photography, and later his professional engagement in various newspapers in the former Yugoslavia. Although he was not in direct conflict with the communist regime, with his photographs Pavelić violated the imposed way of thinking that was channelled through the guidelines of the League of Communists. His photographs were not censored, but were sometimes subjected to criticism at party forums.
The photo archive has not been archivally processed nor financed by state or local institutions. However, thanks to Pavelić's efforts, the photo archive is relatively well-structured and protected from deterioration. Most negatives are chronologically arranged with a brief description. Due to the size and lack of storage space, part of the photo archive is stored at the home of Pavelić's friend. The value of Pavelić's archive has been recognized by documentary filmmakers and journalists, and his photographs are often used for filming or writing about the new wave. As an exclusive copyright holder, he is willing to provide the requested photographs to interested parties, but with full respect for copyrights. His photographs were used in violation of copyright provision on several occasions.
Pavelic exhibited his photographs at five independent and multi-party exhibitions. The first exhibition, entitled “Pipo, photography from 1976 to 1980,” was held in 1980 at the Student Centre Gallery in Zagreb. After a long pause, a second exhibition, “Zagreb, eighties ...: photos” was held in 2002 at the Student Centre Gallery in Zagreb.
