An exhibition “Bosnian liberation theology” by Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡

SARAJEVO, BiH / Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡, a Bosnian conceptual artist exhibited "Bosnian liberation theology" in JAVA Gallery in Sarajevo.

Photo above: Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡ in front of his work, photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

The works are dedicated to the idea of fighting against neo-colonialism and modern slavery. Today’s geopolitical situation requires a reaction of an artist in terms of creating works of art that show the true image of the world in which we live.

NikÅ¡iÄ‡ paints the faces of historical figures that have been reinterpreted through the prism of various ideological and religious symbols with irony. The author deliberately chooses portraits of individuals who formed ideologies of the 20th century like Karl Marx and Lenin, and Barak Obama as the exponent of today’s political reality. All of them NikÅ¡iÄ‡ “dressed” in a distinctive Islamic hats and turbans, suggesting the connection between the ideological, political, and cultural worldview. Today’s reality of the Islamic world and the Arab revolution is the search for social justice and the need to restore the original historical identity. Characters in the paintings by NikÅ¡iÄ‡ are primarily symbols of ideology, and the viewer needs to interpret them based on the historical context in which they acted, and today’s perception of them, as well as the involvement of their ideas in the Muslim societies.

From the exhibition, photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

The serie “The Imams of Socialism” by Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡, photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

“If I had a dream” by Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡, photo by Islamic Arts Magazine

In the exhibited works, Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡ includes also the key individuals from the former Yugoslavia, symbols of an era, whose acts are often examined within the context of the present situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one of the former republics of Yugoslavia. According to NikÅ¡iÄ‡ the value of the former Yugoslavia and its role in the fight against the world’s fascism should not be viewed exclusively by the formation of the communist state system, but mainly in the fight against fascism as a universal form, the struggle against all forms of totalitarianism. NikÅ¡iÄ‡ compares that to the current social and post-war situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the need of Bosnian Muslims to determine their identity in the light of their history.

“Richard Burton Tito” by Damir NikÅ¡iÄ‡, photo by Islamic Arts Magazine