Šejla Kamerić’s EX YOU is an unflinching examination of burdens inherited by women and the ways in which they transform them Like an unwelcome inheritance, the past and future linger – in the body, in history, and in the imposed identities that shape existence.

Through photography, sculpture, installation, and sound, Kamerić navigates the precarious spaces between memory and erasure, self-determination and societal expectation past and present. EX YOU is not only a deeply personal reckoning with the experience of being’exed – from belonging, from the gaze, from one’s.own body — but also a reference to the former Yugoslavia (Ex-YU), a place that has disappeared politically yet persists in cultural memory.

Using her own body as a site of resistance, Kamerić reclaims control over her image. The works in EX YOU expose imposed narratives on women’s bodies, unveiling the layers of patriarchy that continue to shape the female experience.

Self-representation becomes both an act of defiance and an intimate negotiation with identity as she explores the tension between hypervisibility and disappearance. The female body. under stress, under scrutiny, under history’s weight – emerges in fragments; vulnerable, yet unyielding. Her photographic and sculptural works challenge the fragility of femininity as a social construct, subverting symbols of girlhood, sacrifice, and resilience.

Why are women presented, gifted, and wrapped for male consumption? Why is suffering a legacy passed down through blood and silence?

In EX YOU, Kamerić does not seek resolution. Instead, she invites viewers into a space of transition – a space where histories collide, identities are negotiated, and survival itself becomes an act of defiance. The exhibition is accompanied by a sound installation – a compilation of selected audio works from 1999 to the present weaving a sonic narrative of consecutive counting, singing, reciting.

Through intimate yet universal explorations of gender, trauma, and belonging, Kamerić lays bare the contradictions of being a woman in a world that seeks to define her. EX YOU is not just a title; it is a question: What do we carry with us? What do we leave behind? And what remains when everything else is stripped away?

Šejla Kamerić is a renowned visual artist known for her multi- disciplinary work in film, photography, installation, and drawing. She has received widespread acclaim for the poignant intimacy and social commentary that have become central elements of her work. Addressing subjects that arise from non-linear historical narratives as well as personal histories, Kamerić focuses on the politics of memory, modes of resis tance in human life, and the consequential idiosyncrasies of women’s struggle. Empathy plays a central role in her approach, creating spaces of power and dialogue.

Her works are featured in major international collections, including Tate Modern (London), MACBA (Barcelona), Museum Arter (Istanbul) and MMCA (Seou). She has exhibited at prestigious institutions such as MUMOK (Vienna), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Portikus (Frankfurt am Main), the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, and The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.). Kamerić has also participated in Manifesta Biennale, the Gwangju Biennale, and the Venice International Film Festival.

Among her many accolades, she received The ECF Routes Princess Margriet Award (2011) and the DAAD-Berlin Artist Residency Fellowship (2007). Her ilms have screened at over 40 international film festivals, including Venice, Rotterdam, and Sarajevo.

This exhibition is curated by Marina Paulenka, Director of Exhibitions at Fotografiska Berlin and coordinated by Jessica Jarl, Global Director of Exhibitions at Fotografiska.