Installation view: "Knots of Time" The Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig (Germany)
Curator: Simon Kurti
Photo: Alexandra Ivanciu
Courtesy the artist.

Bekteši’s work examines both the history and present realities of migrant labour from Kosovo, tracing the networks of labour, mobility, and survival embedded within them. By mapping cities in which Kosovar-owned bakeries operate, such as Berlin, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, and New York city, he reveals an informal geography shaped not by borders, but by economic necessity and diasporic connection. For Sofra (Leipzig), Bekteši collaborated with Sofra Bakery, the only Kosovar-owned bakery in Leipzig. The sculptural work draws connections to the networks of the Kosovar diaspora, whose unity is forged through shared labour, mutual support, and collective resilience. Bread becomes a marker of cultural continuity and economic endurance. The sculpture is accompanied by a work titled My dad loves me so much, he let me be an artist – a photograph of the artist’s father at work in a bakery in Sarajevo. The image underscores a generational shift. As a migrant worker, the father represents a life shaped by sacrifice and physical labour. His “blessing” for his son to pursue an artistic career reflects a quiet yet profound act of love: the willingness to relinquish his own unrealised aspirations so that another may pursue theirs.Installation:&nbsp;Bread / Rope / Wall drawing / PhotographyIn collaboration with:&nbsp;Sofra BistroCurator: Simon KurtiPhoto-documentation: Alexandra Ivanciu&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;The Galerie für Zeitgenössische KunstLeipzig, Germany2026

Sofra (Leipzig)

Installation view: Detail
Photo: Alexandra Ivanciu
Courtesy the artist.

Installation view: "My Dad loves me ..." Detail
Photo: Alexandra Ivanciu
Courtesy the artist.

Yeast is a living agent, a catalyst capable of activating flour, water, and air. In these static matters, it awakens the latent potential to come together and become something else: a dough, then bread, a roll, a pretzel, and other forms of nourishment. This process of transformation, unchanged for millennia, was once believed to be a form of magic. In much the same way, immigrants activate and reshape their lives in Western societies, not only adapting to new socio economic realities but subtly reforming them in return. In the case of bakery workers scattered across the West, the labor of making bread becomes entangled with the making of futures, for themselves and for the communities they feed.&nbsp;For his newly commissioned exhibition, Kemil Bekteši takes yeast as a point of departure to reflect on labor, migration, and the quiet force of resilience. This reflection emerges from a deeply personal place. His father, Ruzmir Bekteši, is a baker whose labor enabled Kemil’s artistic practice. Through his work, Kemil gives voice to his father, and by extension to all those whose labor creates the unseen conditions for art and survival. Rooted in personal histories, the works turn the gaze toward the working conditions of Kosovar’s dispersed across the West—not as stereotypes, but as workers, as artists, and individuals who navigate the in-between. Today, it’s estimated that about one third of people born in Kosovo live abroad. The trope that the Kosovar baker owns or works in a bakery is a familiar nationalistic stereotype in the Balkans, often repeated without pause or reflection. Here, Kemil Bekteši picks up that very cliché and turns it inside out, examining what lies beneath.Slow and Unstoppable, features a series of processual installations, composed &nbsp; &nbsp; of stainless steel structures, from which dough slowly, quietly grows. The cold, industrial and sterile metal, a standard in professional kitchens, becomes the frame for something soft, warm, and alive. The dough keeps rising from within, transforming the installations throughout the course of exhibition. Slowly. Unstoppably. Surrounding these sculptural works are Maps001— 004, wall drawings of somewhat abstract maps. These maps Kemil produced in the cities he recently worked in, including Berlin, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, New York, always going further west. In each city, he visited each Kosovar-owned bakery, mapping their coordinates and connecting them. This cartographic gesture reads as a form of urban and diasporic pilgrimage that allows one to connect with the roots far away from home. The gallery reverberates a constant hum which is a sound piece recorded at Ruzmir Bekteši’s workplace. GGM21, captures the sound of a dough mixing machine that his father turns on each morning at 2:00 AM. By the time the bakery opens, both machine and Ruzmir have already been working for hours, unseen and unheard. In the exhibition space, this low hum becomes the voice of that invisible work(er).Together, these works speak of migration, transformation and fermentation as both metaphors and methods of life. Just as a microscope reveals fermentation is not magic but work, in parallel, Kemil’s installations uncover the slow and cumulative processes that shape the diasporic lives: generational persistence, care, and endurance.- Bojan Stojčić Installation:&nbsp;Stainless steel / Dough / Wall drawings / Sound InstallationCurator: Bojan StojčićProduction: Hana HalilajPhoto-documentation: Agon DanaDesign: Studio PermanentNita Salihu Hoxha, Lira Gjikolli&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;The National Gallery of KosovoPrishtina, Kosovo2025&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Slow and Unstoppable

An art exhibit featuring raw dough on metal surfaces and on a gray tiled floor, with a large window in the background.

Installation view: "Slow and Unstoppable" The National Gallery of Kosovo (Prishtina)
Curator: Bojan Stojčić
Photo: Agon Dana
Courtesy the artist.

An exhibition space featuring two dark panels on a white wall with light-colored dough-like material spilling from them onto the floor and pooling underneath a bench.

Two close-up images show bread dough expanding and dripping off a metal counter.

Installation view: Detail
Photo: Agon Dana
Courtesy the artist.

A diptych showing dough overflowing an unseen container on the left, and the same dough deflating and dripping on the right.

Metal baking racks filled with dough sit next to an abstract string art installation in a minimalist gallery.

Two metal bakery racks with raw bread dough, one on the left with dough on three shelves, and one on the right with dough on two shelves and the floor.

Two identical light-colored dough mounds rest on a metal rack, with the left one on a solid shelf and the right one on metal bars, both surrounded by a light-colored wall with faint diagonal lines.

Two images juxtaposed show dough on a baking rack: on the left, the dough is in a single mound; on the right, it has spread out, with some falling to the floor.

A diptych showing a large, flat, irregularly shaped piece of pale dough resting on a tilted metal surface on a gray tiled floor, with a metal cart visible in the background.

Bulging dough overflows and hangs from the edges of a metal table on a dark gray tiled floor.

Fluffy white dough overflows in three metal trays, set within a stainless steel cabinet on a tiled floor.

A white gallery wall featuring a geometric black string sculpture and a metal table with a beige, textured substance spilling from it, next to a reflective glass door showing a man walking.

A tower of four square bread loaves on a mirrored surface, in front of a white fireplace with a drawing on the mantelpiece, in a room with hardwood floors.

Astoria explores interconnected themes of migration and breadmaking. Bekteši is reflecting on a story of his father being a migrant and a baker, he is exploring the bakeries established by many who left Kosovo. In his works, different bread sculptures connect with bakeshop mapping in various cities where the migrants found new homes. The exhibition presents the fourth installment of this series - another network emerges above the famous grid when connections are made between the bakeries that the artist mapped in NYC. It links with a personal photograph with a note, and a sculptural installation of bread blocks, where this famous cultural marker symbolizes the essence of building structures, as well as solidarity, support, and connections among scattered communities. Installation / Drawing / Photograph In collaboration with:&nbsp;Arberia, Djerdan Astoria, Djerdan Burek, Dukagjini Burek, Dua Cafe, Çka Ka Qëllu, Balkan Grind, Sweets by Linda, Ekosfere, Teuta Qebatore, Dea Burek, Cakor, Si n’shpiCurator: Data Chigholashvili RU House, Governors IslandNew York City, USA2025.

Astoria

Two stacks of cubed bread loaves on reflective surfaces on a wooden floor in a dimly lit room.

Three square pieces of toast are stacked vertically on a mirrored surface on a wooden floor in a sparsely decorated room with white walls.

A tall stack of pale, square bread loaves sits in front of a white fireplace with a dark brick interior.

An art installation on a white wall features framed photos of a person's mouth and gold teeth, a dental X-ray, smaller framed photos, and a dental mold on a pedestal, with a printed document taped above.

Installation view: "Gastarbeiter 2.1" Galerija Manifesto, Sarajevo (BIH)
Curators: Adna Muslija, Bojan Stojčić
Photo: Ahmed Avdagić
Courtesy the artist.

Bekteši's artistic-research project Sofra Shqiptare, conducted earlier this year in Berlin, is conceptually rounded off with the work Euro Smile. Driven by years of research into his family's migration experiences, Bekteši explored various migration flows of workers in Berlin bakeries, originating from Kosovo and Albania. These flows were represented in the Berlin exhibition through a wall drawing and installation – intertwined simits in the form of a chain.In the Sarajevo exhibition he is showcasing a performative act of getting a gold tooth. The practice of gold tooth-making, once typical of gastarbeiter (migrant workers), functioned culturally as a symbolic display of newly acquired power and economic prosperity. By investing the honorarium he received for participating in the Berlin exhibition into getting a gold tooth, Bekteši continues his cynical play with prejudices and stereotypes. At the same time, the self-proclaimed status of power, acquired through artistic work "across borders," becomes a symbolic and conceptual monument to all other "artist-gastarbeiters."Adna Muslija,Curator, Gallery of Contemporary Art Manifesto Installation, 24K Gold toothIn collaboration with Dr. Azra PirovićCurator: Adna Muslija, Bojan StojčićPhoto-documentation: Ajla SalkićVideo-documentation: Ahmed AvdagićGallery of Contemporary Art ManifestoSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina&nbsp;2024.

Euro Smile: A Monument to Gastarbeiters

A TV screen displaying a dental procedure hangs on a white wall next to a collage of framed dental-themed imagery and a small white shelf with an object.

Audience members viewing a video installation of a man undergoing a dental procedure.

Two people looking at a framed image of teeth with gold caps and a document on a white wall.

A patient in a dental chair with an assistant holding a removed tooth in a gloved hand while another assistant works on the patient's mouth.

Detail: Tooth implantation process
Photo: Ajla Salkić
Courtesy the artist.

A dentist performing dental work on a patient's open mouth with specialized tools and bright light.

A close-up of a person revealing a gold tooth with their finger.

A black and white image of a person's mouth with a gold tooth.

Detail: Sketch
Photo: Ajla Salkić
Courtesy the artist.

'EuroKruhek' illustrates various patterns of migration among bakery workers from Kosovo. It symbolizes the interconnectedness and solidarity among these workers through a drawing that maps the city's bakeries in the form of dots and lines connecting them. The artist transforms purchased bakery products from these mapped bakeries into an installation representing a form of totems.&nbsp;The term "totem" originated from the Chippewa word "ototeman," which literally means 'relatives by the womb'. It is often inaccurately translated as 'his relatives' and similar phrases, but it denotes a clan relationship among people, emphasizing kinship and blood ties. In the installation, the artist utilizes pans belonging to their father, a baker, to preserve traces of his work, drawing attention to the often invisible and undervalued labor of bakery workers. Installation / DrawingCurators: ETC. Magazine ( Ajda Ana Kocutar, Hana Čeferin, Lara Mejač ), Tina PētersonePhoto-documentation: Marijo ZupanovMIDAS&nbsp;Ljubljana, Slovenia2024.

EuroKruhek

Three sculptures made of stacked bread and stones stand on a reflective black table in a dark room.

Installation view: "Selling out" MIDAS. Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Curators: ETC. Magazin and Tina Petersone
Photo: Marijo Zupanov / ETC. Magazin. Courtesy the artist.

Sculptures of bread loaves stacked in columns and displayed on a black reflective surface.

A decorative display of bread loaves, with a long braided poppy seed loaf at the top, round, golden-brown rolls in the middle, and multi-grain bread at the bottom, against a dark, blurry background with subtle lights.

Installation view: Detail
Photo: Marijo Zupanov / ETC. Magazin. Courtesy the artist.

A long chain made of pretzels hangs from a wall-mounted bracket, with the bottom portion resting on the floor in a scattered pattern.

The installation &#39;Sofra Shqiptare&#39; illustrates the various migration patterns of bakery workers originating from Kosovo. It symbolizes the interconnectedness and solidarity among these workers through a wall drawing depicting dots and lines connecting them, as well as an installation featuring intertwined sesame rings forming a chain. Installation / Wall DrawingIn collaboration with:&nbsp;Sofra Shqiptare (I, II, III), Aroma B&auml;ckerei, Pashtriku B&auml;ckerei, Kalaja B&auml;ckerei, Edoni B&auml;ckerei, Hit B&auml;ckerei, B&auml;ckerei Allaf, Imeri&rsquo;s Balkan Burek, Prizreni Curators: Bojan Stojčič, Adna MuslijaPhoto-documentation: Benjamin Renter, Bojan StojčićPhoto-documentation on film: Kemil Bekte&scaron;inGbK (neue Gesellschaft f&uuml;r bildende Kunst)Berlin, Germany2024.

SOFRA SHQIPTARE

A beige chain hangs from the ceiling and coils on the floor, next to a framed artwork on a white pedestal and a framed sketch on the wall, all in a white gallery space.

Indoor art installation featuring a large, ornate golden chain extending from the ceiling to the floor, with geometric string art on the wall in the background.

Installation view: Sofra Shqiptare at nGbK, Berlin (Germany)
Curators: Bojan Stojčić, Adna Muslija
Photo: Benjamin Renter / Bojan Stojčić. Courtesy the artist.

A complex string art installation forms geometric shapes on a white wall.

Wall drawing - MAP001: Berlin
Courtesy the artist.

&ldquo;250&deg;C&rdquo; is a personal reflection on labor, migration, and the value society assigns to different types of work. This body of work, created from the baking pans used by my father in his profession as a baker, preserves the traces of grease and pastry left behind from years of use. These marks serve as a testament to the physical and emotional toll of manual labor, a contribution that often goes unrecognized despite its essential role in sustaining society. The title, &ldquo;250&deg;C,&rdquo; refers to the baking temperature for bread, symbolizing the daily grind of my father&rsquo;s work. This piece also explores the stereotype of Kosovo men working in the bakery industry across Europe, a narrative that shaped much of my upbringing. Through this work, I engage with the broader issue of economic migration, examining how labor becomes intertwined with identity, particularly for migrant workers who are often reduced to simplistic stereotypes. The use of gold leaf to cover the traces of labor is central to the artwork&rsquo;s concept. Traditionally associated with wealth and status, gold transforms the ordinary into the valuable, prompting questions about what society deems worthy of recognition. This elevation of my father&rsquo;s labor through the use of gold highlights the disparity between the value of essential work and how it is often overlooked or under- valued. &ldquo;250&deg;C&rdquo; challenges viewers to reconsider their perceptions of labor and the workers who perform it. The contrast between the utilitarian baking pans and the luxurious gold leaf underscores the contradictions in how different types of work are perceived and valued within cap- italist systems. While physically demanding, low-paid jobs like my father&rsquo;s rarely receive acknowledgment, they form the foundation of everyday life. This work is both a tribute to my father&rsquo;s perseverance and a com- mentary on societal hierarchies. It invites viewers to reflect on whose contributions are celebrated and whose are ignored, and to question the standards by which we define value and success. Baking pan / gold leaf&nbsp;Photo-documentation: Bojan StojčićSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina2023.

250 °C

Three rectangular panels, two with rust-colored edges and speckles of gold, flank a central light gray panel with subtle golden flecks, all against a white background.

Photo: Bojan Stojčić. Courtesy the artist. 2023..

An art exhibition featuring two rectangular, distressed metal plates suspended by chains above a reflective black platform in a dimly lit room.

Installation view: MIDAS. Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Curators: ETC. Magazin and Tina Petersone
Photo: Marijo Zupanov. Courtesy the artist. 2024.

Rectangular panels featuring distressed black and white textures hang from chains over a shiny black reflective surface on a light-colored floor, with other textured sculptures in the background.

A close-up of a rustic, textured surface partially covered in gold leaf, suspended by a metal chain and carabiner against a dark background.

Installation view: Detail, MIDAS. Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Curators: ETC. Magazin and Tina Petersone
Photo: Marijo Zupanov. Courtesy the artist. 2024.

A rectangular piece of art, textured with scratches and a distressed, peeling gold and green border, hangs by a chain with a reflection beneath it.

Three rectangular artworks with distressed gold frames and muted, neutral-toned centers hang on a plain light wall above a tiled floor.

Installation view: "Demode", Rijeka (Croatia)
 Courtesy the artist. 2023.

Two people stand facing each other in an art gallery, a man holding a red cup and a woman reading a paper in front of abstract gold-framed artwork.

Installation view: Detail. "Demode", Rijeka (Croatia)
 Courtesy the artist. 2023.

The backbone of the performance was the everyday act of kneading bread, this time transformed into a strong symbolic message about true heroism and the impossibility of real equality. Dressed in Hero's vest (a work by Nikola Dimitrović), an object made of barbed wire, Bekteši kneaded bread in a wooden trough while the vest left numerous scars on his body. By carrying out an action traditionally associated with women, Bekteši has already begun to problematize gender roles in all our societies. But by adding to this action the element of physical pain and anguish resulting from the use of the Hero's vest, the artist opened the performance to many questions, such as those about true heroism, the meaning of home, the neglected memories of everyday life far from great battles and inhabited by silent heroines, and finally - the invisible work of women and their invisible wounds.Nela TonkovićCurator, Contemporary Gallery Subotica Perfomance,Curator: Nela TonkovićHero's vest: Nikola DimitrovićPerfomance documentation: Luka MilanovićContemporary Gallery SuboticaSubotica, Serbia2023.

HERO

A barefoot man kneels before a wooden trough, kneading dough, while barbed wire is intertwined into his body and a red pot sits on the table.

Installation view: "The Favorited" Contemporary Gallery Subotica (Serbia)
Curator: Nela Toković
Photo: Luka Milanović. Courtesy the artist.

A person's bare upper torso from the shoulder to the chest is visible, with reddened scratch marks covering the arm, shoulder, and clavicle area.

Bare chest and shoulder of a person with dermatographia or skin writing on their skin.

A shirtless man's chest and shoulder are covered in red skin rashes of different sizes.

A delicate shirt-shaped sculpture made of barbed wire hangs on a white wall.

Installation view: Detail, "Hero's Vest" Nikola Dimitrović
Photo: Luka Milanović. Courtesy the artist.

A wooden trough on tripod legs with cooking supplies and a wire sculpture in an arched alcove.

Various carved wooden food items displayed on white pedestals in a gallery.

Installation view: "At the monument at 7" Kula Cetinjska, Belgrade (Serbia)
Curator: Bojana Jovanović
Photo: Luka Milanović. Courtesy the artist.

TIP400: Proposal for a monument for a bakery worker" is a dialogue and a tribute to Bekteşi's father. The work serves as a monument to the working class, questioning national stereotypes. Bekteşi creates a temple for a hero deserving of recognition in his lifetime. However, it avoids entrapment within the confines of its own privacy; instead, it employs a universal language to establish a collective space for visitors, allowing for individual interpretation in alignment with their experiences.A public monument inherently invites diverse interpretations beyond the author's original intent. Monuments become sites for gathering and interaction, evolving beyond their initial contexts. A monument that once glorified a personality or ideology may now reflect entirely different beliefs. Throughout history, such circumstances have reshaped the aura of monuments, imbuing them with new symbolic forms and prompting fresh meanings and interpretations. Therefore, Bekteşi allows space for his personal "ideology" to adopt new significance with each visitor, who perceives the monument through their own lens. Sculpture,In collaboration with: Ruzmir BektešiCurator: Bojana JovanovićPhoto-documentation: Luka MilanovićKULA, CetinjskaBelgrade, Serbia2023.

TIP400: Proposal for a monument for a bakery worker

An art gallery with numerous bread and pastry-like sculptures on white pedestals and an arrangement of small, grid-like photographs.

Three young women stand among an art installation of bread-like sculptures displayed on white pedestals in a gallery.

Various bread-like sculptures are displayed on white pedestals in a gallery with two people partially visible in the background.

A person takes a photo of bread-shaped sculptures displayed on white pedestals in an art gallery.

Installation view: Detal, "At the monument at 7" Kula Cetinjska, Belgrade (Serbia)
Curator: Bojana Jovanović
Photo: Luka Milanović. Courtesy the artist.

A used kitchen mixer with a large silver bowl and white base on a white counter.

"A combination of different practices is also found in the work of Kemil Bekteši. Bekteši, contrasting his work position with his father's, criticizes the economic relations of labor. In the work of GGM 20, Bekteši's artistic intervention is almost completely absent. The artist moves the means of work from the bakery workshop to the gallery space and changes its purpose - he turns an industrial mixer into a drawing machine. In this way, Bekteši distances himself from his previous practice by allowing the machine's mechanical movements to sublimate both his and his father's work. The result of the first mechanical drawing installation in BiH is abstract and geometrized drawings - true artifacts of the father's love and hard work, which was the foundation thanks to which his son's art is being created. Observers witnessing the mechanical drawing process, in essence, faced with a dedication to the family. The infrastructure on which, in the absence of any other, BiH artists rely upon."Adna Muslija,&nbsp;Curator, Gallery of Contemporary Art Manifesto "...in the central part of the gallery there is GGM 20 by Kemil Bekteši, which, however, deals with the concept of heritage and identity in a completely different way. In his new work, Bekteši builds on his previous work&nbsp;My Dad Loves Me So Much He Let Me Be An Artist, in an attempt to establish a direct dialogue with his father and the work he does for the working class. In this dialogue, several conflicting elements are contrasted, primarily the economic evaluation of the labor invested in the capitalist system, the valuation of the product, and finally the presence and absence of artistic intervention. As Kemil Bekteši's father is a baker by profession, he takes one of the tools from his workshop and translates it into a gallery context, the industrial mixer now becomes a drawing machine. The results of this work, in fact, represent the first mechanical drawings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they are circular and abstract, however, although the machine moves in the same way every time it is turned on, the patterns are surprisingly different. The works depend on how long the mixer is on and how the pencil is positioned on it, thus again requiring the direct intervention and decision of the artist. GGM 20 is a sincere testimony of the love between father and son, and the hard work of one generation, which lays the foundation for the next to reap the fruits. However, it is worth looking at this work in a wider context, outside of the artist's personal story. It is important to note that the work is being created at the same time as the new craze for AI art, which is causing very different opinions. With this, GGM 20 takes an important step forward and raises relevant questions about artistic intervention today."Jovana Trifuljesko,&nbsp;Art historian and curator on GGM 20. Installation, mechanical drawings.&nbsp;Curator: Adna MuslijaPhoto-documentation: Ajla SalkićGallery of Contemporary Art ManifestoSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina&nbsp;2022.

GGM 20

A brightly lit gallery space with a light blue floor, white walls displaying artwork, and a pedestal in the center.

Installation view: "POV" Sarajevo (BiH)
Curator: Adna Muslija
Photo: Ajla Salkić. Courtesy the artist.

A black marker and a paper with circles drawn on it inside a dirty mixer.

Installation view: Detail "POV" Sarajevo (BiH)
Curator: Adna Muslija
Photo: Ajla Salkić. Courtesy the artist.

Installation view: MiArt Milano
Photo: Nicola Morittu. Courtesy the artist.

"Old Blood" is a public performance, specifically taking place at the Institute for Blood Transfusion of Serbia. It delves into the geopolitical situation in the Balkans, particularly questioning and commenting on the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo. I was born in Belgrade, where I attended primary school, hold Serbian citizenship, and am proficient in reading and writing Cyrillic. Does that not make me Serbian? However, my parents are originally from Kosovo, which attests that pure Kosovo blood runs through my veins. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17th, 2008, through a declaration adopted by the Kosovo Assembly in Prishtina. Serbia still regards it as its autonomous province, albeit recognizing its institutions in the 2013 Brussels agreement. Kosovo and Metohia hold significant positions in Serbian secular and ecclesiastical history and are inevitably intertwined with narratives of Serbian heroism and suffering. Kosovo blood symbolizes prestige and serves as a significant signifier of Serbian national identity. On paper, with all these elements, I am someone whose blood carries this "special significance," yet not all Kosovo blood is held sacrosanct. It must meet certain criteria to attain its "true value." What are these criteria, and who determines them? Through a simple and humane act—donating blood, which I did for the first time in my life—I sought to ascertain whether my Kosovo blood would be deemed suitable for Serbia, whether they would embrace it as their own. "Old Blood" flows within me, a pivotal aspect of Serbian history. This marked my initial attempt to donate my Kosovo blood to Serbia, which they declined. This endeavor persists and will continue until Serbians accept the blood they so eagerly desire. Performance2021 - ongoing First attempt: 07. 09. 2021.Photo-documentation: Adna Muslija Second attempt: 04. 06. 2022.Photo-documentation: Luka Milanović Third attempt: 04.12.2023Photo-documentation: Ajla Salkić Blood Transfusion Institute of Serbia (First and Second attempt)Faculty for Special Education and Rehabilitation (Third attempt)Belgrade, Serbia

Old Blood

A man in a floral jacket signs a document at a counter as people wait in line behind him.

A person with a patterned sleeve writes on a document with a pen on a wooden table.

A man in a white polo shirt walks into a hallway with mosaic tiled floors and two doorways in a European building.

Black and white photo of three men in what looks like a medical facility.

A masked person leaning over a counter in a room with a poster that reads "Give Blood, Save a Life."

A man in a black mask speaking to a man in a white uniform at a reception desk.

The work &quot;Atlantis?&quot; is divided into two parts: the object and the performance in public space. This work took two years to complete. It commenced in 2019 when I noticed that in the largest park in the center of Sarajevo, there were cultural and historical monuments that no one cared about. While researching the topic, I came across shocking information, such as the revelation that these tombstones from the Ottoman period were used as building material in the construction of streets for traffic. The first phase of the work involved the theft of the monument itself, which I carried out in 2019. My goal was to keep the monument in my studio and observe what was happening around me, especially in the media. Would anyone notice that the monument was missing? After a year had passed and no one had mentioned a word about the stolen monument, I decided to create an identical replica of it. I placed the object in a fish tank and titled it &quot;Atlantis?&quot;. This working title directly alludes to the legend of Atlantis. I believe that if we continue to behave in this manner and neglect cultural and historical monuments in this way, we will become like Atlantis. Following that, in 2021, I decided to return the monument to the place from which I originally stole it. I accomplished this by carrying the monument through the most prominent and crowded streets of Sarajevo. The performance lasted two hours, and the monument was returned to its original location. Today, it still remains there, awaiting restoration. PerfomanceDuration: Two hours.&nbsp;Photo-documentation: Ajla SalkićSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina&nbsp;12. 08. 2021.

Atlantis? 2.0, Returning the stolen object

A man in a white shirt and pants stands under a curved structure holding a coconut, with other people and buildings in the background.

A black and white street photograph of people walking across a street with a building and trees in the background.

A black and white photo of a man in a white suit carrying a large gourd with storefronts and patrons in the background.

A man with a mustache holds a large, round object in an urban crowd in a black and white street photograph.

A black and white photo of a man in a white shirt holding a ceramic pot, standing on a street in front of a building called Opetrol.

A man in a white short-sleeved shirt and trousers sits on a bench on the right side of a busy street cafe, looking down at the wallet in his hands.

A man in a white outfit walks across a city street carrying a large, textured object, with cars and buildings in the background.

A grayscale, eye-level photo shows people crossing a street, with a man carrying a small pumpkin or melon in the foreground.

A person in a light-colored shirt holding a weathered stone sculpture of a body.

A man in a light-colored outfit walks through a park holding a ball in his arms.

A black and white image focuses on a person in white pants and shoes bending over to pick up a pumpkin from a grassy, leafy ground.

A black and white image with a defocussed tree in the background while a carved stone lies on the grass with another similar stone stump in the immediate background.

A black and white photo of a man holding a large rock on a street is displayed on a wall with two smaller photos to the left, partially obscured by a person's silhouette.

“New Wave”
Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, BiH, 2022.

An art gallery displaying black and white framed photographs and a clear box with a watermelon in murky water on a wooden pedestal.

“ZVONO Award (YVAA) Finalist exhibition” 
Center for contemporary culture KRAK, Bihać, BiH, 2022.

An art gallery wall featuring several black and white photographs and a rectangular glass tank with a sculpture submerged in water.

“A(r)tlantida”
Novembar gallery, Belgrade, Serbia, 2022.

"Historical and Cultural Monuments in Sarajevo Deteriorating Fast as Authorities Look the Other Way" is a headline commonly seen in Bosnian newspapers and media outlets. ‘Veliki Park,’ where numerous cultural and historical monuments reside, is also one of the largest parks in the heart of Sarajevo. These monuments are more frequently targeted by vandals than protected and valued by state institutions. With this in mind, I stole a tombstone from the park and kept it hidden for two years, waiting for someone to notice its disappearance. Of course, no one did. Subsequently, I created an imprint of the tombstone, crafting an exact replica. I placed the replica inside an aquarium with golden fish, pondering whether the history and culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina were gradually becoming Atlantis. Although the original tombstone has been returned undamaged to its rightful place, it still awaits its long-overdue restoration and conservation. Object2019 - 2021.Patinated plaster, glass, two goldfishes,&nbsp;40x37x30 cm.

Atlantis?

Black and white photo of a goldfish swimming above a large, textured stone in a small glass tank.

Black and white photo of a cracked, bulbous object submerged in water within a clear glass box.

A glass tank with a green sponge-like object and two orange fish is on a white cube next to a child and two adults in a museum.

A person in a dark jacket reaching a finger into a small aquarium with goldfish.

A green and yellow organic sculpture submerges in a glass tank filled with murky water, resting on a white wooden pedestal.

A detailed shot of a teal pumpkin-shaped craft with peeling paint, submerged in a shallow pool of water, seen through glass.

A beige textured object sits partially submerged in cloudy water within a clear glass tank displayed on a white pedestal, with black and white photos and drapes in the background.

Kemil Bektesi