Yours, Mine, Yours / Tvoje, moje, tvoje (2021)
Mixed media. Glass jars, soil, and plastic sheets.The photograph captures a three-tiered arrangement of glass jars, each filled with soil from Bosnia and Herzegovina — a country shaped by three constitutional peoples and two territorial entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska. The composition echoes the design of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian flag.
The soil, collected from two different locations, is visibly distinct. Although it shares the same air, a plastic sheet separates it, preventing the soils from mixing. This separation serves as a metaphor: just as the plastic will take years to degrade and allow the soils to merge naturally, so too will it take time for people to overcome the entrenched divisions of learned hatred and hostility.
Since the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina — home to Bosniaks (Muslims), Serbs (Orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholic Christians), and others — has been promoted as a culturally diverse and multi-ethnic society. Yet, paradoxically, nearly three decades later, deep divisions persist across cities, neighbourhoods, and even schools.
Photograph of Yours, Mine, Yours (2021)
Soil: Federation of BiH (left) & Republic of Srpska (right)
Plastic sheet
Study material: Word association
National flag of BiH (left) & Republic of Srpska flag (right)
A torn national flag
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