Photo installation, 2013

 

 

 

On the negative on the left side there are three boys in a burek-making place (burek being a Bosinan national pie that they are famous for) called Rođeni Velež (The siblings Velež). Velež is a football club that the majority of Eastern Mostars cheer for, as opposed to Zrinjski that most of Western Mostars cheer for.

 

On the negative on the right side there are two graffitis. One is a pattern with a wolf's head and letters HSP (Hrvatska Stranka Prava) written underneath. HSP is the Croatian Party of Rights, an extreme right-wing political party with an ethnocentric platform. The other grafitti is red paint just sprayed on the wall, obviously resembling blood.

 

The negative on the left was taken in Eastern Mostar, and the one on the right in the western part. These two negatives communicate with each other depicting the story of the present youth of Mostar. After all the adversities, it can easily be seen that they are  being brought up to stay on their side, to remember and not to forgive, subtly expressing agression.

 

The exhibiting of the negatives accentuates the unnatural division of the city, since both negatives are a part a unique film, as Mostar is a unique city.

 

A negative is never concidered a final product, it is a part of a process where a developed photograph is the actual work of art. So by showing negatives I am refering to Mostar as a city in an ongoing process that has lasted for many years. Also, a negative itself represents a kind of an "opposite", therefore the positions of the exhibited ones are not coincidental. This manipulation is a symbol of a completely different, everpresent manipulation over the citisens of Mostar.