"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,
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 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,
Art historian and curator on GGM 20.
Installation, mechanical drawings.
Curator: Adna Muslija
Photo-documentation: Ajla Salkić
Gallery of Contemporary Art Manifesto
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2022.