Kolovare - Frederic Schmiliver Photography

It shines, the wild Summer,
The chest full of roses.
It burns everything, men and things,
In its placid cruelty.

It puts brazen desire
On the young lips of the declining;
It shines, the wild Summer,
The chest full of roses.

Superb king, he hovers irritated
In apotheosis splendours
On the grandiose horizons;
Fawn in the white light,
He shines, the wild Summer.

- Théodore de Banville (1823-1891)

Kolovare is the name given to a beach and swimming club in Croatia. In the summer, it is the city's main outdoor social club and a favorite spot for children and teenagers to meet, play, swim, and flirt.

At a time when teenagers are often glued to their screens from morning to night, Kolovare can be considered a timeless place, a place that, in a way, should no longer exist.

I am photographing Kolovare every summer since 2020, the year I discovered the place by chance while my son was hospitalised nearby.

For me, it is a way of traveling back in time, to my adolescence and my summers on the French Riviera.

With Kolovare, I wish to create a portrait of youth in the summer, highlighting nostalgia, joy and serenity.