zdenko bašić - waterman
Levača (Podravina), Croatia, 2014.
Read the story
Water spirit is a waterman, all green, ruler of the waters with long hair and a beard, all covered in moss and vegetation. They live in rivers and lakes with their wives, and they take care of their kingdom of fish, crabs, and scallops. If a fisherman, or a swimmer, disturbs him, he will drown him and make him his servant keeping his soul in a clay pot.
In old beliefs when a child or person drowns, water spirits were always to blame. They are very strong, and almost no one can fight against them, but if a swimmer is strong as well, they will make him have cramps within their arms and legs, and there is no saving him.
Zdenko Bašić is a multimedia artist. He has been awarded numerous awards in all areas of his artistic creation, mesmerizing the audience and the critics with his fairytale world inhabited by fantastic creatures. He is constantly playing with the thin line in-between dream and reality, comfort and fear.