Šarac

After the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the residents remained in the commons state. For many years after the conflict, tragedy and drama of ordinary people only have been risen from the end of the war and stubbornly persisted. Many people don’t feel much better even today, although the weapon had become silent a long time ago. Relatively quiet Yugoslav society in a few years became unfortunate one. The reality defeated the imagination as accident went beyond human reason. The whole society has been degraded for a class or even lower. The man in these photos we find in such an environment. His life was far away from the life worthy for a human be, a life that is substantially degraded to the point that it seems that there only makes sense to die. We can say it in few words, he has been left to live a life without true happiness. The series of these photographs was created in the period from October 2012 to April 2013. During those seven months, the camera recorded part of Ranko Mijatovic Sarac’s life, survived veteran who have, for a long time, been surrounded mainly to a few people from the neighbourhood and the rare members of the family. The exact day when we end the recording, in a difference of only three days, coincided with the beginning of the war in Bosnia. Coincidence or destiny? Since the end of the war has passed eighteen years. Sufficient enough for one generation to grow up to adulthood. Sarac unfortunately wasn’t that lucky. For him, the time has stopped. Carefree seventies and eighties when he was earning for a living as a musician, have been replaces Yugoslav crisis and the war, which invalidate him as a man and turn his life in other direction. Ranko was born in the late sixties in Majevica mountan’s village called Mezgraja, in the northern part of Bosnia, as a middle child, with an elderly brother and younger sister. Before and during the recording he wasn’t very open to speak about what kind of childhood he has had. Way back memories he quickly presented in two subjects who remained closest to him: music and war. Although it has already passed many years since the last time he played the drums, his fingers were still tended to blink in time with some unknown tunes with visual art which possess only musicians. Sarac, with his appearance stood as the embodiment of war destruction. One of those on which the lapse of time little notices. What was happened to others was pretty much on a smaller scale. If you carefully look at him you are able to see traces of past times in one very disastrous way. But more than that: ideals of a socialist’s giant who gave up of present life continuing value things as he did long time ago. All about him was preserved in some tracks, fragmented pieces behind which you can only imagine the breath of stopped past.