page_title: Šejla Kamerić
section_title: EU/Others
hierarchical_section_title: Šejla Kamerić / Analysis of individual works / EU/Others
caption_attribution_description: English: Šejla Kamerić, EU/Others, 2000, Triple Bridge Ljubljana, Slovenia.
context_page_description: Šejla Kamerić is a Bosnian visual artist. She received widespread acclaim for her poignant intimacy and social commentary. The weight of her themes stands in powerful contrast to her particular aesthetic and choice of delicate materials.
context_section_description: EU/Others is an installation in public space conceived for the exhibition ‘Borderless Syndrome’ Manifesta 3 - the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2000. The exhibition was curated by Francesco Bonami (Chicago, Turin), Ole Bouman (Rotterdam), Maria Hlavajová (Amsterdam, Bratislava) and Kathrin Rhomberg (Vienna). 
  The public installation consisting of two double-sided light-boxes with inscription EU citizens on one side and Others on the other, challenged pedestrians as they crossed the famous triple bridges of Tromostovje in the center of Ljubljana. Signs above the walkway replicated the actual border control division of travelers. If one was to look back, however, they would realize the signs were double-sided, and any chosen path was absurdly opposite in the other direction. During these early years of the European Union integration process, two different signs were placed at the border crossings of member countries: EU Citizens and Others. At the time, Slovenia was not yet a member of the EU but was applying the same border control segregation rules. A few years later, the Others signs were replaced with the more politically correct one of non-EU citizens and Slovenia became a full EU member. The work EU/Others received critical acclaim due to its pertinent concept and lucid approach. The work was later exhibited worldwide, among others, in The Philips Collection (in partnership with the New Museum, New York), Washington DC; Das Haus der Geschichte Österreich/The House of Austrian History in Vienna; ARTER, Istanbul and Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt/University of Klagenfurt.
  Artist Statement 
  "As a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I can freely (visa-free) enter just a few countries in the world. When I wish to enter Slovenia, I need a visa which I can get only if I am on a business trip or if a friend invites me for a visit. At the Slovenian border, I enter Slovenia through an entrance with the sign OTHERS. When Slovenians are traveling to European countries, they also use the “OTHERS” entrance at a border crossing. Who are those “OTHERS”? What am I doing at the European Biennial of Contemporary Art (in Ljubljana??) as an “OTHER”? Borders are not just in our heads, they are FACTS. There is an ideal site for my work in Ljubljana; it is Tromostovlje, The Three Bridges in the center of the town. I would like to put signs for the European Union (EU) and OTHERS on the bridges. In such a way, casual passersby who are crossing the bridges will be in the same situation as those who are crossing real country borders. Both will be divided into those who are belonging to the EU and those who are OTHERS. Also, to underline this paradox, even more, I will put different signs on different sides of the bridge, so coming from different directions one will be a “member” of the EU or an OTHER. The reality that I am facing (together with many other OTHERS) will be moved from the border to the center of Ljubljana. “Free world, Europe without boundaries…”. IS THE BORDER THE PLACE WHERE WE SHOULD FIND OUT WHO WE REALLY ARE? Do the Slovenians (pedestrians) know who they are?..."
  Sarajevo, 1999
  Šejla Kamerić 
  (from an email to manifesta III curatorial team)
caption: Šejla Kamerić, EU/Others, 2000. Installation view at Manifesta III, Triple Bridge, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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