The largest solo exhibition of young Bosnian visual artist Denis Haračić, titled Reject, has been opened for view at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. With great interest of the public, the artist presented fifty never before shown works from his most recent series of combined painting, printmaking and drawings, in which he subtly problematizes the state of the cultural and artistic scene of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along with the visual work he also exhibited an audio installation which echoes the exhibition space, made from numerous interviews the artist took with other cultural workers, edited in collaboration with drum and bass musician, music producer and sound designer Billain.
"This exhibition is certainly a very important turning point in my work so far, given that it deals with real problems and circumstances in which we all live and survive. According to the general situation in which Bosnia and Herzegovina finds itself today, the cultural scene is experiencing a special kind of devaluation. This fact is actually nothing new, but what is worrying in this context is that in the last ten years we have lost entire generations of quality artists, performers and workers in all fields of culture. My work is dedicated to those people who find their identity in art and who do their job regardless of these circumstances, driven by pure conviction. BiH is a fertile ground for artistic activities, and our cultural scene survives solely on the efforts of individuals. The gallery space in which the exhibition Reject is set up at the History Museum of BiH, should communicate exactly that idea," said Haračić
Abstracted portraits of young artists, writers and musicians are a intimate kind of Haričić's recognition of colleagues, but also a representation of the true potential of Bosnian society. Driven by the desire to test the possibilities of color, line and surface, Haračić simultaneously questions the possibilities of visual communication and the insisting on artistic expression, which in this case, will turn rejection into acceptance.
“The collective feeling of rejection and non-belonging is used as a driving energy, so any negative connotation of the term reject becomes positive. It becomes unifying, inspiring, encouraging, and selfless. Reject is a multi-layered, complex and extremely important artistic cycle. It is the product of well-founded dissatisfaction, but also an instruction for its resolution - together, united, (we) rejected, we win. Therefore, every utterance of the word reject while looking at Haračić's works is accompanied by a not so quiet echo of the word accept", said curator Adna Muslija in the introductory text.
The exhibition is on view until the 10th of January.