We Borrowed the Land from the Forest; Workshop

Zagreb, Ribnjak culture centre, 2025

The workshop was conceived as the beginning of a series of experiments through writing and printing. Initially, I read several poems by young, international contemporary poets that focus on the forest. Then each participant, in a few sentences or in a short prose poem, described a memory of a tree that had made a strong impression on them. From the selected text, we extracted one part and wrote it onto fabric, each in their own mother tongue.

A meditative segment followed this: with our eyes closed, we tried to draw a chart or map of that forest or tree, using the lightest shade of diluted ink. Afterwards, we selected the darkest and lightest areas of the work. Each pair worked on a single piece of fabric divided into two halves, and participants had to pay attention to compositional balance and negotiate their decisions together.

Pressed plants such as ferns, hellebore, moss, and similar materials were also available, and participants could incorporate their imprints into their work. Using the technique of diluted ink on fabric, we explored the relationship between abstract and figurative forms.

After the drawing phase, each participant described their experience of working in pairs. We explored the rich symbolism of the tree in various cultural traditions: Islamic, Indian, Nepalese, and Christian, while trying to address the question: What simple actions can we do to raise awareness of the importance of trees and forests in a time of climate urgency?