Press Release Text – Sejla Kameric

Bosnian artist Šejla Kamerić has received widespread acclaim for her poignant intimacy and social commentary. Based on her own experiences, memories and dreams, which were influenced by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), Šejla Kamerić’s work takes us to global spaces of displacement and discrimination. The weight of her themes stands in powerful contrast to her individual aesthetics and to her choice of delicate materials.

The central piece of Šejla Kamerić’s exhibition is her most recent work Red Carpet (2011) in which the artist subverts the cosiness typically associated to a hand-fabricated rug. The six-meter-long rag rug is made only out of red second-hand clothes. Parts of the clothing, zippers, buttons, tags remain visible. Red Carpet is surrounded by black and white oversized crochet doilies entitled Hooked (2010) which are hanging like spider-webs on the walls and in the corners of the space. Šejla Kamerić’s work is beautiful and alarming at the same time, fascination and discomfort lie close together.

The work functions both by analogy and connotation, raising issues of gender-specific perspectives with reference to real events. Differently from the feminist, critical approach to craft in the 70s and the mere usage of weaving as a traditional female craft, Šejla Kamerić’s works become a visual form of resistance. It draws a strong reference to the myths of Philomela and Arachne who were raped and silenced by their perpetrators and chose weaving to testify their stories.

Šejla Kamerić received the Routes Princess Margriet Award. The ceremony and screening take place on February 8, 2011 in Brussels. From January 21 – March 27, 2011 Šejla Kamerić is having a solo exhibition at Camera Austria, Graz.