Nikhil Chopra | Munir Kabani + Jana Prepeluh
Fjaka, 2014
Single channel | 13 mins 6 sec
Edition of 5

The title is borrowed from the Balkan Mediterranean expression suggesting a condition where there are no aspirations: it is an exalted state of mind and body to which humanity aspires. While in India and elsewhere Fjaka is achieved with long-term meditation, in Dalmatia it is simply a gift from God.

During the work, an island is studied as a sculptural form. It is mapped through the slow orbiting of the camera that alludes, perhaps, to planetary systems and emphases constant change in repetition.

The rock in the middle of the ocean is both a refuge and a trap from which there is no escape route. Though seemingly uninhabited, eight characters emerge in separate corners, each engaged in solitary actions. The sunshine and the calm blue waters are the backdrop, juxtaposed against the melancholy that each character displays.