Illustration and Artwork by Zdenko Bašić
Translated into English, Zdenko’s name means The Well. And his works indeed spring from a deep well of stories and legends of Northwestern Croatia – a unique crossroads of Celtic and Slavic mythology. As a transmedia artist, Zdenko Bašić has spent decades tracing the stories of mythical creatures and breathing a new life into them. This unique fairy trail of preserving and transforming Croatian mythology leans on the work of Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, the foremost Croatian storyteller. Thus the title of the exhibition not only describes his work, but serves as a taster and annoucement of his future work: an English translation of his book Moon Shadows and reimagined Tales of Old (Priče iz davnine) by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. Zdenko’s art resulted from exploration, discovery, and creation of different objects, costumes, dolls, pictures, and drawings in a unique illustration style. It is a unique artistic journey through subtle atmospheres inspired by grandmothers’ stories and actual places in which the author grew up. Artwork and illustrations exhibited here show why Zdenko Bašić’s works have gained a cult following in Croatia and continue to cast their magic.
31st August – 5th September 2021 at the Foyer of the Marin Držić Theatre
Zdenko Bašić graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Department of Graphic Design with a ten-minute puppetry film Snow Story – Angels in the Snow, and won the Best Graduate Award.
In addition to making animated films and directing, he is also an illustrator and has so far illustrated several books that he wrote himself, for which he has received many awards. He is a three-time winner of Grigor Vitez Award for Illustration and triple laureate of Kiklop Literary Award for his work as writer/illustrator of the books The Chocolate Story, The Tales of the Wind and Moon Shadows.
He won two Porin Awards for best video and graphic design.
Zdenko exhibited his illustrations at solo and group exhibitions in Croatia and internationally, and in 2017 he held an extensive exhibition The Wind Shadows in Klovi ćevi Dvori Gallery after winning the Grand Prix at Croatian Illustration Biennale. He was added to the IBBY Honours List (International Board on Books for Young People), and in 2009 he received the Best Young Artist Award from the Croatian Association of Fine Artists of Applied Arts.
For his debut film, Gulliver (2009), he earned a special diploma of the professional jury at Animateka in Ljubljana, Grand Prix at the Croatian Film Days in 2009, the Oktavijan Award for best animated film at the Croatian Film Days, and the Best Short Film Prize at the Libertas International Film Festival in Dubrovnik. Zdenko also won the Gold Medal of Union Internationale du Cinéma festival in 2012.
In 2016 he collaborated with Vocal and Dance Group Lado in the visual design of their final annual performance Walk Through the Year as graphic and set designer and animator.
In 2017, in cooperation with the Museum of Turopolje, he establishes and becomes the Artistic Director of Pernfest – Festival of Forgotten Folk Tales and Legends that takes place every year at the end of May. He teamed up with Spiritos Publisher to illustrate The Goldsmith’s Treasure. This was the bestselling storybook of 2018. In 2020 he publishes Moguths – The Forgotten Guardians of Turopolje Groves. Together with the Museum of Turopolje he founded the Library of Forgotten Tales – Perunfest.
Midsummer Scene is a project of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board and the City of Dubrovnik,
and it is a joint production with Brilliant Events, Dubrovnik and Honey-tongued Theatre productions Ltd., London.
Silver sponsors
Bronze sponsors
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