Carmen 2006

Editor: Here we have Branko Bačanović’s 2006 mixed-media collage, “Carmen.” It has such a fragmented and layered feel, and yet there's also something very striking and confident about the way the artist uses colour. What are your initial thoughts on this poster? Curator: It immediately strikes me as a powerful statement, particularly when considered through the lens of socio-political commentary. Notice how the female figure, presumably Carmen, is constructed from fragments – snippets of text, vintage paper, and bold colours. Doesn't it feel like a deliberate act of deconstruction? Editor: Deconstruction of what, exactly? Curator: Of conventional representation, perhaps? Traditional depictions of female figures, especially within the context of ballet, often fall into predictable tropes. By using collage, Bačanović challenges those tropes and invites us to consider Carmen not as a singular, fixed entity, but as a composite of various societal and historical forces. How do you interpret the use of Cyrillic script and seemingly disparate cultural references? Editor: I hadn't considered the script within that framework. It feels like the poster embraces those diverse influences while exploring ideas of cultural identity through a fragmented lens. Curator: Precisely. Collage, as a medium, mirrors the complexities of identity, particularly in a region with a rich but also conflicted past. Think about the historical context of Sarajevo; how might this inform the work’s meaning? Editor: It reflects a society composed of layered cultures and ethnicities... which could speak to some internal conflicts, too? It certainly goes against that grain and seems intentionally made to encourage discussion of that social history. Curator: Exactly, and it makes you consider how national identity is made and remade by cultural change. Editor: That’s a new perspective for me, and that really changes how I understand it. Curator: And art gives us an avenue for discussing such changes.