Love Story in the National Park is a video work that uses irony and subtle critique to address questions of environmental protection and the preservation of nature. It reflects on the excessive production and consumption that relentlessly degrade natural ecosystems. The camera follows a drifting plastic bag and bottle as they float through the breathtaking landscapes of the Zeta and Morača rivers on their way to Lake Skadar (Montenegro).

The video opens with scenes of pristine nature accompanied by original ambient sounds. At first, it feels like watching a sequence from a Zen channel—until a large plastic bottle suddenly appears, gliding along the river surface. The irony intensifies as the camera moves through places of remarkable beauty, only to unearth various kinds of waste that emerge continuously, almost as if they have become a “natural” part of the landscape. The sounds of the river, birdsong, and the croaking of frogs—though authentic—begin to feel unreal in this context.

After travelling more than 100 kilometers, the two plastic “lovers” finally meet in a secluded corner of Skadar Lake National Park. This work is my contribution to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Montenegro’s declaration as an Ecological State.