Šejla Kamerić

Šejla Kamerić is a Bosnian visual artist. She received widespread acclaim for her poignant intimacy and social commentary. The weight of her themes stands in powerful contrast to her particular aesthetic and choice of delicate materials.

Šejla Kamerić
Born
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
EducationAcademy of Fine Arts Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Notable work
EU/Other, 2000; Basics, 2001; Bosnian Girl, 2003; Sorrow, 2005; 30 Years After, 2006; What Do I Know, 2007; Gluck, 2010; 1395 Days Without Red, 2011; Ab uno disce omnes, 2015; Embarazada, 2015; Thursday, 2015; Keep Away From Fire, 2018; We Come With a Bow, 2019; Behind The Scenes I, 2019; Behind The Scenes II, 2019
AwardsDAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program Fellowship, 2007; The ECF Routes Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity, 201.

Early life and education

Šejla Kamerić was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a child she lived in Dubai where her father was working for several years as a volleyball coach. Her family returned to Sarajevo in the wake of Yugoslav wars. When the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina started Šejla Kamerić was just 16 years old with a successful career as a model for local and international fashion magazines and brands. She continued her modeling career during the early years of war. During the Siege of Sarajevo, she graduated from the High School for Applied Arts and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo, graduating from the Graphic Design department after the war. Between 1994 and 1997, she worked with the design group Trio, group of young artists who (amongst other outstanding projects) designed a series of postcards Greetings from Sarajevo (1993) in order to draw international attention to the atrocious situation in the besieged Sarajevo. In 1997, she started to exhibit regularly in Sarajevo and internationally. During this period and until 2000, she was the art director of the advertising agency Fabrika. Since 2003 she was a member of the European Cultural Parliament. She was awarded with DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program Fellowship[1][2] in 2007 and continued to live and work in Berlin as a freelance artist. In 2011, Kamerić received The ECF Routes Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity.[3][4] Today she lives and works between Sarajevo and Berlin.

Artistic practice

Šejla Kamerić works with various media such as film, photography, objects or drawings. The all-pervading element in her work are her – often uneasy – memories. She is using them as a power source by sharpening the focus of the present through the burden past. Based on her own experiences, memories and dreams, her work takes us to glocal spaces of displacement and discrimination, insisting that the delicate and the sublime are not pushed aside by catastrophe or hardship. Rather, they exist simultaneously, revealing a complex, psychogeographic landscape and the tenacity of the human spirit. The sadness and beauty, the hope and pain that emerge are part of the stories we share.[5]

Dunja Blažević in the catalogue of the exhibition “In the Gorges of the Balkans”, Fridericianum Museum, Kassel, Germany, 2003 wrote:

"What makes Šejla and the entire group of “war generation” artists essentially different from other members of their generation is the meaning inherent in their works, as opposed to the materials they use. Furthermore, in pursuing her work without worrying about what art really is or isn't, she proves herself a member of that generation born in the age of mass-media, in which the main references are the media and the reality around them, and not the history of art."

Exhibitions and screenings

In 1997, Kamerić exhibited her work for the first time at the annual exhibition[6][7] organized by SCCA - Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Art[8] and curated by its director and renown art historian Dunja Blažević.[9] In the following years, Kamerić worked closely with Blažević and continued to collaborate with SCCA.[10][11][12] In this period Kamerić started to exhibit internationally. In 2000, she was invited to Manifesta III (entitled Borderline Syndrom)[13][14][15] in Ljubljana, Slovenia. For this occasion, she made the installation EU/Others[16][17] which received international acclaim and later became part of the TATE Modern collection.

Since then Kamerić has done numerous installations and interventions in public space: Closing The Border (2002); Bosnian Girl (2003); Pink Line vs. Green Line (2006); Ab uno disce omnes (2015), BFF (2015); SUMMERISNOTOVER (2014–2020).

Kamerić’s works have been on view in solo exhibitions at prestige art institutions such as Portkus[18] in Frankfurt am Maine (2004); Galerie im Taxispalais[19] in Innsbruck (2008); mumok in Vienna, Röda Sten Centre for Contemporary Art and Culture in Gothenburg, Wip: Konsthall in Stockholm and Centre Pompidou in Paris (2010); Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, Camera Austria in Graz, ArtAngel[20] in London and MACBA, Barcelona[21] (2011); MG+MSUM - Museum of Contemporary Art[22] in Ljubljana, Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, Kunsthaus Graz,[23] Sharjah Art foundation - Sharjah Art Museum[24] and CAC Contemporary Art Centre[25] in Vilnius (2012).

2015 was marked by two extensive solo exhibitions, at ARTER Space for Art,[26][27] Istanbul and the National Gallery of Kosovo, Pristina. In the same year, Kamerić’s highly ambitious project Ab uno disce omnes, commissioned by Wellcome Collection,[28][29] was shown in London as part of the exhibition Forensics: The anatomy of crime.[30]

Her first short film What Do I Know premiered in the Corto Cortissimo section of the Venice International Film Festival in 2007 and has been screened since in more than 40 international film festivals. The film was awarded with Best Short Film at the 5th Zagreb Film Festival in 2007 and Best Fiction Film at International Adana Film Festival in 2008. A collaborative film project 1395 Days Without Red, done with Anri Sala and Ari Benjamin Meyers and produced by ArtAngel premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2011. In the same year the film has been screened at the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival; MACBA, Barcelona and MSU - Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb. In 2015, Kamerić collaborated with Thai film director Anocha Suwichakornpong on a short film Thursday which premiered at the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam 2015.

Kamerić has participated in numerous group exhibitions: The Real, The Desperate, The Absolute, Forum Stadtpark, Steirischer Herbst Festival, Graz, (2001); One Hundred Years of Contemporary Art of Bosnia and Herzegovina, National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo (2001); Prague Biennale; The Gorges of the Balkans,[31] Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2003); Passage d'Europe, Musée d'Art Moderne, Saint-Etienne (2004); Taboo / Tirana Biennale (2005); 15th Biennale of Sydney (2006); Tales of Time and Space, 1st Folkestone Triennial, Folkestone, (2008); Baltic Biennial of Contemporary Art, Szczecinie (2009); Gender Check: Femininity and Masculinity in the Art of Eastern Europe,[32] mumok in Vienna and Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warszaw (2010); Gwangju Biennale (2012); Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2013); Hannah Ryggen Triennale, National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Trondheim (2016); The Restless Earth, Nicola Trussardi Foundation and La Triennale di Milano (2017); The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement,[33] The Phillips Collection in partnership with the New museum, Washington, D.C.; 2nd Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art,[34] Coventry; 4th Berliner Herbstsalon, Maxim Gorki Theater, Berlin (2019).

Analysis of individual works

EU/Others
Šejla Kamerić, EU/Others, 2000. Installation view at Manifesta III, Triple Bridge, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

EU/Others is an installation in public space conceived for the exhibition ‘Borderless Syndrome’ Manifesta 3 - the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2000. The exhibition was curated by Francesco Bonami (Chicago, Turin), Ole Bouman (Rotterdam), Maria Hlavajová (Amsterdam, Bratislava) and Kathrin Rhomberg (Vienna).

The public installation consisting of two double-sided light-boxes with inscription EU citizens on one side and Others on the other, challenged pedestrians as they crossed the famous triple bridges of Tromostovje in the center of Ljubljana. Signs above the walkway replicated the actual border control division of travelers. If one was to look back, however, they would realize the signs were double-sided, and any chosen path was absurdly opposite in the other direction. During these early years of the European Union integration process, two different signs were placed at the border crossings of member countries: EU Citizens and Others. At the time, Slovenia was not yet a member of the EU but was applying the same border control segregation rules. A few years later, the Others signs were replaced with the more politically correct one of non-EU citizens and Slovenia became a full EU member. The work EU/Others received critical acclaim due to its pertinent concept and lucid approach. The work was later exhibited worldwide, among others, in The Philips Collection (in partnership with the New Museum, New York), Washington DC; Das Haus der Geschichte Österreich/The House of Austrian History in Vienna; ARTER, Istanbul and Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt/University of Klagenfurt.

Artist Statement

"As a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I can freely (visa-free) enter just a few countries in the world. When I wish to enter Slovenia, I need a visa which I can get only if I am on a business trip or if a friend invites me for a visit. At the Slovenian border, I enter Slovenia through an entrance with the sign OTHERS. When Slovenians are traveling to European countries, they also use the “OTHERS” entrance at a border crossing. Who are those “OTHERS”? What am I doing at the European Biennial of Contemporary Art (in Ljubljana??) as an “OTHER”? Borders are not just in our heads, they are FACTS. There is an ideal site for my work in Ljubljana; it is Tromostovlje, The Three Bridges in the center of the town. I would like to put signs for the European Union (EU) and OTHERS on the bridges. In such a way, casual passersby who are crossing the bridges will be in the same situation as those who are crossing real country borders. Both will be divided into those who are belonging to the EU and those who are OTHERS. Also, to underline this paradox, even more, I will put different signs on different sides of the bridge, so coming from different directions one will be a “member” of the EU or an OTHER. The reality that I am facing (together with many other OTHERS) will be moved from the border to the center of Ljubljana. “Free world, Europe without boundaries…”. IS THE BORDER THE PLACE WHERE WE SHOULD FIND OUT WHO WE REALLY ARE? Do the Slovenians (pedestrians) know who they are?..."

Sarajevo, 1999

Šejla Kamerić

(from an email to manifesta III curatorial team)

Bosnian Girl
Šejla Kamerić, Bosnian Girl, 2003, installation view at 4. Berliner Herbstsalon, Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin, October–November 2019

Bosnian Girl is an art work that started in 2003 as a public project consisting of postcards, posters, billboards, that is exhibited either as an intervention into public space or as a black and white photograph in various dimensions. It was done in collaboration with photographer Tarik Samarah.

Denigrating phrases about Bosnian women are superimposed over a black and white photograph of the artist staring straight at the viewer. Taken from graffiti written by an unknown Dutch soldier in 1994/5, a member of the Royal Netherlands Army who, as part of the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-95, were responsible for protecting the Srebrenica safe area. The artist’s gaze is unflinching, direct and challenges not just the words pushed onto her, and all Bosnian women, but invites us to see their new form of identity – where victimhood and prejudice, the past and the future are intertwined in co-existing opposition.

Originally a series of posters publically displayed on the 2003 anniversary of the Srebenica genocide, this work has become iconic of post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, a direct confrontation of war crimes committed against women and the prejudices that came during and after it. Part of the multiple permanent exhibitions and museum collections, Bosnian Girl is also on view as part of the permanent exhibition in the Memorial Centre Potočari, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1395 Days without Red
Šejla Kamerić, 1395 Days Without Red, 2011. Still Frame.

1395 Days without Red was conceived, developed and filmed as a collaborative film project by Šejla Kamerić and Anri Sala in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers and produced by ArtAngel, London and SCCA/Pro.ba, Sarajevo.[20][21] Šejla Kamerić's film draws on the experience of the siege of Sarajevo and the trauma of the besieged citizens as they made their way through the city. The title refers to the common anecdotal notion during the siege that Sarajevians should not wear bright colours that could attract the snipers’ attention. The woman, played by Spanish actress Maribel Verdu, is reliving the experience of the trauma of the siege. It is her individual journey in the collective memory of the city. Throughout the siege, the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra continued to play. In the film, the orchestra rehearses Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony, the Pathetique. The musicians stop and start, repeating different sections of the symphony, just as the woman stops and starts in the city. Hearing the music in her head, she finds the courage to carry on.

Notable works and films
  • 1999 Zauzeto/Occupied
  • 2000 EU/Others
  • 2001 Basics
  • 2002 Closing the Border
  • 2002 Dream House
  • 2003 Bosnian Girl
  • 2004 FREI
  • 2004 Imagine
  • 2004 Untitled/Daydreaming
  • 2005 Pink Line vs Green Line
  • 2005 Sorrow
  • 2006 30 Years After
  • 2006 Pink Line vs. Green Line
  • 2008 I Remember I Forgot
  • 2009 If I Sleep It Will Be Double
  • 2010 - 2012 Hooked
  • 2011 - 2012 Red Carpet
  • 2012 Ballot Box
  • 2012 Measure
  • 2013 June Is June Everywhere
  • 2013 - 2019 Fragile Sense of Hope (Xglass)
  • 2014 SUMMERISNOTOVER
  • 2014 Missing
  • 2015 Ab uno disce omnes
  • 2015 BFF
  • 2015 Embarazada
  • 2015 Liberty
  • 2017 Maze
  • 2018 Keep Away From Fire
  • 2019 We Come With A Bow
  • 2019 Behind the Scenes I

Films
  • 2007 What do I know
  • 2010 Glück
  • 2011 1395 Days Without Red (in collaboration with Anri Sala and Ari Benjamin Meyer)
  • 2013 Apollo - The First War Cinema (in collaboration with Almir Palata and Mark Casans)
  • 2013 Shifts
  • 2015 Thursday (in collaboration with Anocha Suwichakornpong)

Awards

Collections

Šejla Kamerić's works have been included in numerous collection worldwide, such as TATE Modern, London; Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris; MACBA – Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art;[21] Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; Kontakt. The Art Collection of Erste Group and ERSTE Foundation, Vienna; Art Collection Telekom,[35] Bonn; Vehbi Koç Foundation Contemporary Art Collection (2007+), Istanbul, permanent exhibition at the Memorial Center Potočari, Srebrenica and others.

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References
  1. "Berliner Künstlerprogramm". www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  2. "Berliner Künstlerprogramm | Biography: Kamerić, Šejla". www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  3. "2011 ECF Princess Margriet Award". European Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  4. Sejla Kameric, ECF Routes Princess Margriet Award laureate, February 2011, retrieved 2019-09-21
  5. "Galerie Tanja Wagner | Šejla Kamerić". Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  6. "Meeting Point". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  7. "Šejla Kamerić "Copy-Paste"". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  8. "About". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  9. "Dunja Blažević - Monoskop". monoskop.org. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  10. "What am I doing here?". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  11. "The 26th Youth Salon". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  12. "Balkan Konsulat". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  13. "Manifesta 3 « MANIFESTA". Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  14. "Manifesta 3". m3.manifesta.org. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  15. "Manifesta 3". scca.ba. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  16. "Manifesta 3". m3.manifesta.org. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  17. "Spike Art Quarterly - No. 03 / Spring 2005 - Portrait Sejla Kameric". old.spikeart.at. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  18. "#129 Šejla Kamerić: Others and Dreams - Portikus Frankfurt". www.portikus.de. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  19. "Galerie im Taxispalais - Sejla Kameric". www.galerieimtaxispalais.at. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  20. "1395 Days Without Red". www.artangel.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  21. "MACBA Collection. Šejla Kamerić and Anri Sala". www.macba.cat. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  22. "ŠEJLA KAMERIĆ: 1395 Days Without Red - MG+MSUM". www.mg-lj.si. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  23. "1395 Days without Red - The exceptional circumstances of Sarajevo's besieging in film - Event | Kunsthaus Graz". www.museum-joanneum.at. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  24. "1395-days-without-red - Sharjah Art Foundation". sharjahart.org. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  25. "Šejla Kamerić: exhibition and film programme". Contemporary Art Center. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  26. "Šejla Kamerić: When the Heart Goes Bing Bam Boom - Announcements - e-flux". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  27. Arter | Šejla Kamerić | ‘‘Bim Bam Bom Çarpınca Kalp’’, retrieved 2019-09-21
  28. "Šejla Kamerić | Ab uno disce omnes | Wellcome Collection - Wellcome Trust". prev.wellcomecollection.org. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  29. "Šejla Kamerić at the Wellcome Collection". Art Collection Telekom. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  30. "Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime". Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  31. archiv.fridericianum-kassel.de http://archiv.fridericianum-kassel.de/ausst/ausst-balkan.html. Retrieved 2019-09-21. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. "Gender Check". www.mumok.at. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  33. "The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement". www.phillipscollection.org. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  34. "Coventry Biennial 2019: 4 October – 24 November". Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  35. "Šejla Kamerić". Art Collection Telekom. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
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