An illustrated reportage from a creative island retreat, or: about the importance of rest and Dalmatian “spiza”, and the inevitable negotiations with mosquitoes.
At the height of summer, before the start of the tourist season, an international group of cultural workers and researchers gathered in the framework of the Testing Ground project retreated to an island in Croatia to explore the reparative potentials of rest and leisure. Repair Shack Molat was conceived as a space and time for the unconditional rest of a group of cultural workers in an island setting.
Driven by the fact that the division of time between work and rest is nearly nonexistent today (especially in the fields of art and culture), the group, inspired by the format of traditional artistic colonies, collectively reflected on leisure, rest, idleness, work, and non-work, as well as their own (visitor) position on the island. At the Molat Colony, any planning, consideration of upcoming projects, deadlines, applications, and similar tasks was deemed undesirable.
Repair Shack included an eco-tour of the island led by marine biologist Taida Garibović, a workshop on reparative tourism by sociologist Željka Tonković and a presentation and film screening by artist Brane Zorman, who is (together with Irena Pivka) an author of Molat Colony concept.
In this endeavor, Ena Jurov, an illustrator who is personally connected to the island of Molat, joined us. Her reflections on the experience are presented below.
Molat Colony (on compulsory non-work)
I arrived on Molat a day before everyone else. My grandfather is from Molat, so I stayed at his house. I defrosted two of grandma’s stuffed peppers, cooked two potatoes, and called my grandfather. To let him know everything was okay.The next day, I welcomed the crew on the catamaran. Ljubo drove them and their belongings to the apartment by car. Ljubo: “These folks from Zagreb have come to teach us how to live on an island!” Well said!The rest of the days we ate two cooked meals a day, our beautiful Dalmatian “spiza”. A little bit for swimming, a little bit for a walk, a little bit for an afternoon nap.In the evening, Brane took us to the viewpoint. In silence, we enjoyed the panoramic view of the Zadar archipelago, the statue of Our Lady and a thousand blood-thirsty mosquitoes. The worst half hour of my life. (This year)
He asked me what exactly I was doing on Molat. I told him that some people from Zagreb, Slovenia, and Poland were having an art colony where they weren’t allowed to do anything, and I was drawing them. Hell if he understood a thing. “Yes… I know how to turn on the hydrophor…”I went swimming in the Jaza bay while they settled down. Great job, if only each one was like this.One day we had to go on an organized walk. I showed everyone where the puddle with water lilies was hidden. Taida showed us various plants, and Željka talked about reparative tourism. I don’t believe in it, just like i don’t believe in sustainable tourism.On the way back from the catamaran, I called my grandfather again to tell him that I had turned off the water heater and water heater. He asked me again what exactly I did in Molat. Ha… Nothing! “I can’t even explain to myself!”
