Exhibition Opening | Mara Bratoš: Lopud Portraits

Mara Bratoš’ Lopud portraits were created over the course of 25 years, documenting the Mediterranean coming-of-age of a young girl from the island of Lopud and Dubrovnik, the actress Jelena Perčin. The project explores female strength and the authenticity of growing up on the Dubrovnik island of Lopud.

Three series of works by Mara Bratoš – from 1998, 2003 and 2023 – depict the transformation of society and the region itself, through the personal story of a girl and her own transformation within that society. It is a story that has a particular resonance in the Mediterranean region, where leaving home in search of a better life has resulted in numerous abandoned villages and islands on the coast. Therefore, the connection that is established here at the level of photographing and recording the subject, a young girl at the time and a mature, adult woman today, is important. Women have traditionally been seen as passive observers of major historical events, victims who bear the burden of care, but the subject captured here represents a transformation, someone who has seen and experienced what is happening to her family first hand. The subject here symbolizes a woman in a Mediterranean region who suffers the sacrifice of her family and turns from a passive observer into an active participant in society, fighting for community values.

Photo (c) Mara Bratoš