Luka Mozaika

It all started with a small spomenik (monument from the era of communist Yugoslavia), a rectangular block decorated with colored pebbles and bits in a mosaic pattern depicting a sun, seascape, abstract figures, and centrally, a dove carrying an olive branch—a recognized symbol of peace. The monument was set up to celebrate the 1968 First International Meeting of Artists in Vela Luka.

Located on the west end of the island of Korčula, Vela Luka is a quiet town where activity is defined by being one of the island’s two large ferry ports, and the main one for car-carrying ferries. However, since that 1968 event, it has had lofty ambitions. Ante Marinović, an artist who participated in the meeting, assisted in the installation of several mosaic pieces in the small islet of Proizd, not far from Vela Luka.

From that project came the idea of Luka Mozaika, intended to create a long pathway of continuous mosaic artworks all along Vela Luka’s main promenade. Started in 2017, it is now a contender for a Guinness World Record as the longest mosaic. Marinović continues to oversee the installation, in which visitors and locals are sometimes invited to participate.

The designs are conceived, and pieces formed, in a workshop space called Ambalaža. These often reflect the origins of its participants and Croatia’s international connections. A kangaroo, for example, stands for the Australian visitors who come to Vela Luka, many of them seeking connections to their ancestors. Croatia is the source country of a large diaspora, notable in some other countries like New Zealand and Chile, as well as North America. Other designs are typical of Croatian identity, like a braid and the checkered board, while yet others are local to Vela Luka and Korčula.