OTOK - A Photography Book

Book Description

This collection of images explores my connection with the natural environment of Korčula, an island off the southern coast of Croatia in the Adriatic Sea. Specifically, these photographs are from the south-west side of the island in an area called Tri Porte or Tri Luke (“three bays”), which faces the open sea and is about 10 km from the nearest town. My grandparents built a house here in the late 1970s. As botanists, they had traversed the entire coastline and decided that this was the most beautiful place to spend their summers.

I have been visiting Korčula since I was born. My earliest memory of the island is from the summer of 1989. I was on a boat ride with my parents, and we docked in a nearby bay to eat our lunch: bread, pašteta, and fresh tomatoes. The omnipresent scent of pine trees, symphony of cicadas, and warmth of the afternoon sun was forever imprinted in my mind. The following year, my family relocated to the United States due to political conflict in the region. I would not return to Korčula until 1996.

Korčula for me represents a biographical homecoming, as well as a primordial return to nature, or the symbolic womb. When I am here— immersed in the sounds, colors, and scents of the island—I feel completely at peace with both my internal and external worlds. These photographs also explore the warmth of belonging to a place, and the intimacy that develops with a place throughout a lifetime. OTOK speaks to the sense of safety, stability, and “being held”—as well as the feelings of joy and bliss—that we can experience through our relationship with the places we hold dear.

Edition of 250

7.75 in x 10.4 in

64 pages / 29 images

Digital Printing