The history of art proves that renewal and ephemerality are models that gain prominence by revealing segments of life through still life. In visual art, still life oscillates between the beautiful and the unpleasant, the transcendental and the contemptible, it is a symbol of sorrow on account of those that have perished and at the same time the archetype of the hope for renewal of life. In such a nomenclature, a flower, not in the sense of an aesthetically appealing element of nature, but as a symbol of transience, deepens our understanding of the nature of seduction, beauty and withering, seen through the prism of physical and meaningful characteristics.

he legacy of the past through which the artist Emir Šehanović journeys in his floral adventure is imbued with senses reflecting the equilibrium between the spontaneity and obedience typical of the ikebana flower arranging practice, whose meaning, according to the ancient cultural tradition, promotes perfect harmony achieved through adaptation.In a sterile space, under the guise of plastic sandblasted curtains which could be associated with shrouded corpses, there is a flower arrangement which causes slight fear, as well as excitement. Through each intimate encounter with this work, we feel the subtle pulse of life.Emir Šehanović deals with the fundamental issues of the history of artistic representation and its structures in an analytical and metaphorical manner by using the morphology of the flower as an independent opulent microcosm which unfolds layer by layer. Through a set of reproduced media that the artist applies in his work entitled No one puts flowers on a flower’s grave, combining quasi-natural materials, we come across details whose visual attraction constantly creates new constellations of forms. Nature is a complex whole, not to be reduced to its constructive aspects. Emir paints a poetic picture of nature as a sacred place, a place of privileged communication between our existence and what comes afterwards.

By broadening visual field in his art practice, the artist applies the process of the digital postproduction of nature, and besides transposing the generating vision of reality, he provokes inspiring considerations regarding the hidden potential of the very atmosphere we are currently living in. In that sense, reanimating nature in a perfect visual harmony in this work calls for different interpretations of freedom and confinement, but at the same time, that harmony serves as a warning that none of us fits perfectly in this world and that we all need to adjust somehow.

Emir Šehanović (*1981, Tuzla) lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia. Outside of the region, he has shown his work in the context of solo and group shows at eastcontemporary, Milan (2023), Space O+A, Tokyo (2023), Vienna Contemporary (2023), Liste Art Fair Basel (2021), Kunstraum Riehen (2021), Jeune Création, Les Beaux-Arts de Paris (2018), AQB Project Space Budapest (2018), Ultrastudio Los Angeles (2018), Gallery Weekend Berlin (2015), Athens Video Art Festival (2013) among others, and took part in Liste Art Fair (2015, 2020, 2021), Vienna Contemporary (2019), Parallel Vienna (2018), ArtGeneve (2018, 2019). Šehanović has recently been selected as part of 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow, published by Thames and Hudson.

Проектът е реализиран с финансовата подкрепа на Национален фонд „Култура“/ National Culture Fund, Bulgaria, по програма “ПРОГРАМА ЗА ВЪЗСТАНОВЯВАНЕ И РАЗВИТИЕ НА ЧАСТНИ КУЛТУРНИ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ”