From the catalog of the exhibition ‘In the Gorges of the Balkans’

by Dunja Blažević

Šejla Kamerić belongs to the generation of Sarajevo artists who grew up in the war and lived through a three-and-a-half year siege and the shelling of the city. This biographical fact has greatly determined the attitude of this artist, as well as her understanding and practice of art.

Mainly what this means is that art is not the goal, but rather the means for self-identification – communicating her experience, memories and opinions, which she wants to share with others, or which she uses to confront them.

Regarding one of her most recent works, Bosnian Girl, she herself says that it is directly connected to the Srebrenica tragedy, but that it deals with prejudice as well, not only the prejudice of others towards us, but also our prejudice towards others. This statement very clearly demonstrates the reciprocity and legibility of her messages.

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.

Dunja Blažević

From the catalog of the exhibition «IN THE GORGES OF THE BALKANS»