Making the Invisible Visible

Making the Invisible Visible – International Exhibition

23.7.2025. – 15.9.2025.

Dobrović House (Jelsa Municipal Museum, HDD), Kravata Gallery

The international exhibition Making the Invisible Visible by artists Francisca Rocha Goncalves (PT), Ivan Marušić Klif (HR), Marieke Leene (NL) and Paulina Almeida (PT), has been opened on July 23rd, 2025 in the Kravata gallery of the Jelsa Municipal Museum and HDD OTK gallery of the Croatian Designer Association.

In a world conditioned by taking, one of the most radical acts is to do nothing.

This year, the Jelsa Art Biennial has decided to focus on the importance of protecting the underwater world through collaboration with scientists from the Zagreb Faculty of Science. The occasion is the discovery of a unique world phenomenon – Island Trapped Waves. One of the few locations in the world where the phenomenon has been recorded is, along with Gottland, Hawaii and Bermuda – our own Lastovo archipelago.

At the Making the Invisible Visible exhibition, artists will use audiovisual means to show this phenomenon, and during the exhibition there will also be a series of expert scientific lectures on the topic of the three biggest threats to the coast: uncontrolled fishing, nautical tourism and maritime traffic that contribute to sea pollution and the destruction of the coast during coastal construction.

Water covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. Life originates from water, and under the surface of the sea there is a living world so vast and unexplored that many compare it to the vastness of the universe. It is almost incomprehensible how quickly the processes that favor the faster development of climate change take place.

The most effective way to slow down the development of climate change, contribute to increasing biodiversity and promote positive effects for the environment are protected – no take – zones, where any form of human influence is prohibited, and nature renews itself. Artists will illustrate these processes through artistic means and the language of contemporary art.

About JAB
Jelsa Art Biennial on the island of Hvar is a contemporary art festival that connects diverse audiences through a variety of artistic media and practices. It focuses equally on established and emerging artists. The event is unique in that its works are mostly performed in public spaces, with the aim of bringing contemporary art closer to the widest possible audience and emphasizing art that conveys a message of social responsibility and sustainability. In this sense, JAB has a vision to become a unique and recognizable event of socially responsible art on a European level and a generator of development based on ecological awareness and culture.

Making the Invisible Visible was created as part of Co-Vision – large scale project to map the Europe’s natural heritage in a digital archive.

Co-production partners: LAB852, Sustainable Island
JAB programme is co-financed by: EU Creative Europe Programme, Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, Jelsa Tourist Board, Split-Dalmatia County, City of Zagreb, Culture Moves Europe, Magic Carpets, Co-Vision, Goethe Institute, Kultura Nova Foundation, Municipality of Jelsa, Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, City of Agueda
In partnership with: Jelsa Municipal Museum, Croatian Design Society, Monade, Dalmacijaland Gallery, Vrboska Film Festival, AgitLab, Mudri Brk, Hvar Summer Festival
Media partners: T-Portal, Morski.hr