In the green hills of central Bosnia and Herzegovina, Halim Zukic has recreated a nature park in the form of one of Vincent van Gogh's most famous paintings, The Starry Night.
Zukic is from the town of Visoko. He decided to create a park after buying some land and a small house in a nearby village 20 years ago. But he had no clear idea of what the park should look like.
Then he saw tractors moving among fields of tall grass six years ago. He also saw that the tractors made circular shapes in the earth. This reminded him of similar shapes in Van Gogh’s painting.
"From that moment, I was no longer in doubt," Zukic told Reuters news agency. But his effort took him time, money, and a lot of work.
To match the painting, Zukic brought in 130,000 lavender plants in six colors. Plants known for their aromas and medicinal uses were also planted. These include sage, echinacea, wormwood and chamomile. Together, they form colorful circles and help recreate the appearance of Van Gogh’s painting.
Zukic also planted more trees and created 13 small lakes using water from the area.
Zukic did the work to form the land into the same shape as the painting by himself. He said recreating the painting has helped him better understand artists and the creative problems they face.
"This is the largest representation of The Starry Night, and the result of 20 years of dreams, of living those dreams to make them real," he said.
The park is 10 hectares in size. Zukic said it will show art programs and promote central Bosnia's cultural heritage. Zukic also wants the park to offer visitors a place to rest and think.
Van Gogh was born in 1853 in the Netherlands and died in 1890 in France.
I’m Andrew Smith.
Daria Sito-Sucic reported this story for Reuters news agency. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
tractor –n. a vehicle with a strong motor that is used to pull things
in doubt –phrase to be in a state of indecision
aroma –n. a pleasing smell
promote –v. to tell people about something in an effort to make it more popular
heritage –n. the traditions, beliefs and objects that make up the history of a people
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