A new exhibition by the prominent art photographer Almin Zrno, one of the most influential authors of contemporary photography in our region, has been set up in the former Sarajevo café “Festina lente”, it was announced.
Located at the approach to the bridge of the same name, whose symbolism calls for caution and thoughtfulness, the installation opens a new chapter in the long-term cycle Pleonexia, based on the ancient Greek concept of extreme greed and the insatiable desire for possession.
The installation is set up in a public space in Sarajevo and invites visitors to confront the fragility of life and the consequences of the contemporary ideology of insatiability.
This phase of the project builds on the work presented in 2023 on the facade of the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time, the photograph of a woman with a plastic bag on her head, illuminated by the neon sign “PLEONEKSIA”, became a striking metaphor for a society that, as editor and author Slobodan Samardžić Sam wrote, “turns ruthless selfishness into the assumption that other people and things are there to be exploited.” To put a plastic bag over their heads. A planet in a plastic bag. And to enjoy it.
In his new text, Samardžić reminds us that modern man is becoming increasingly resistant to warnings, no matter how strong they are.
“Many indicators of the development of civilization testify that the influence of art is insufficient,” he writes, adding that “an artist who deals with this topic is particularly unfortunate” because his own concern does not leave him even when his work becomes recognized.
Almin Zrno expands on this thought and in his new installation opens up two key issues of today: the attitude towards water and the increase in global threats arising from greed, conflict and a complete lack of care for the planet. Transparent bags filled with clean water hang in space as fragile objects between which the visitor must carefully pass. Each is a reminder of a simple truth: without water there is no life. Technological progress can cover up everything else. Samardžić calls this installation a “subtle and gentle warning”.
The dominant points in the space are the neon signs WAR MING and WAR NING, visual warnings that pulsate like signal lights over global reality.
“It is no coincidence that the time for such a warning is here,” Samardžić wrote, pointing to the moment in which climatic, social and political destabilizations become inseparable.
Zrno also finds inspiration for this segment of the exhibition in recent scientific discussions about climate extremes. Climatologists warn that dust storms, heat waves and the disappearance of green spaces are no longer local incidents but global disruptions that threaten entire systems. A planet losing water and green space is no longer a warning of the future but a state in which we already live. There is no boundary that can separate a person from the consequences of his decisions.
The exhibition is set up as a form of guerrilla art, deliberately outside the walls of a classic gallery.
“I want people to confront the message, not to look for it in a closed space. This is the moment to see it in everyday life because we are talking about things that determine our survival. Thinking differently and acting differently is no longer a choice but a condition for survival,” says Zrno.
The installation is available to visitors 24 hours a day until the end of the year. Located in a space whose name also carries the message “hurry up slowly”, it invites us to slow down, pay attention and introspection: to look around us and recognize how much our habits shape the world we leave to others.
In conclusion, Samardžić emphasizes that Zrno’s work returns man to his origins and reminds him that “being a part of nature means having a responsibility towards nature and oneself in it”. It is this responsibility that forms the backbone of the entire installation, which combines a strong artistic aesthetic with an urgent social message, Fena writes.
