[wzslider autoplay=”true”]They represent one of the most famous couples in the world of design.
Dada and Bojan Hadzihalilovic gave honorary place to Sarajevo on the world map of graphic design.
For their collection of postcards and posters from the besieged Sarajevo, the Greetings from Sarajevo 1993, we can say that they represent capital artistic work created in the siege, but also one of the most important chapters of the anthology of visual art in BiH.
In the second half of the 80’s, Dada and Bojan Hadzihalilovic and Lela Mulabegovic Hatt, then students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, were making the design team Trio, which was known for the covers of the albums of the most popular bands – Bijelo Dugme and Plavi Orkestar. In besieged Sarajevo in 1993, Dada and Bojan, like majority of other artists, send a message to the world through their works about the injustice that was happening in Sarajevo.
“In emergency situations you are usually trying to give your best, if you’re a writer, musician, you write a poem about the city…” said Bojan and Dada added:
“Sarajevo was in complete communication blockade, phone lines were shut down, and the only way of communication was through the Red Cross, through messages. Very few people had the opportunity to get out of Sarajevo and to return and they were always bringing some scraps of paper, some letters. We thought in which form to present what was happening to us. And that’s how we started making postcards.”
Postcards experienced great popularity, and designers were printing them through the pure exchange of goods:
“Back then we have designed pack of cigarettes Bosnia for Tobacco Factory, and they paid us in packs of cigarettes. This was very popular mean of payment in the war. Then we paid with cigars printing and paper, and everything went in a circle. UNPROFOR soldiers particularly enjoyed the postcards, and we would get for them packed lunches, coffee… Classic exchange, of goods,” recalled Bojan.
Considering that it was a redesign, on each postcard was written that it is free for further reproduction, so we have the opportunity to see these motifs on souvenirs sold in Bascarsija today.
(Source: Radiosarajevo.ba)
