Armin Ćosić: Weed

Armin Ćosić, Weed, work in progress, performance and installation

ARTIST STATEMENT

I would regularly go to the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina to look at Gabrijel Jurkić’s „Blooming Plateau“. However, in past period, instead of flowers, we are looking at the danger threating to destroy the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the most important art institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina which celebrates 75 years of work to preserve Bosnian-Herzegovinian culture and art. While the whole city is trying to wear festive clothes for the upcoming holidays, I will dress the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in weeds.

Through my work so far, using the technique of bricolage in the recycling of waste materials and textiles, I create objects that indicate to the public the need to preserve things, objects and the environment before their values and qualities are endangered. By artificializing the natural, forms from nature, through objects, clothing and installations, I try to raise public awareness of the need to preserve the nature and culture of this society.

By tearing textiles, clothing, paper and waste material into pieces, and applying torn pieces to the textiles that will be displayed as objects in public space, in the sewing process (activity) that will last until the problem is solved, my work presents the idea of deconstruction my with the aim of reuniting, that is, solving the problem.

The black textile object as an artificialization of the natural – the artificialization of weeds that is expanding and increasing every day, as an installation on the facade of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks to create a metaphorical image of the parasite that invades the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the negligence of the authorities on maintaining the institution of the National Gallery of BiH, its collection is endangered, but this weed is much worse, it comes from outside, from the parliamentary benches, from society, from neglect of its own culture, values and spirit of society, and thus for their own survival. With this work, I want to point out to the public the danger that has arisen, with roots which did not only recently developed. Weeds have appeared and they can end the life of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its rich collection. Weed comes from outside and tries to take over the entire National Gallery of BiH, not caring about the culture or the Gallery. That weed is our weed, and that weed needs to be cleaned. We need to prevent growing of weed where it does not belong.

Symbolically related to the cleaning activities, and as a metaphor for the appearance of the mold in the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the appearance of parasites in government institutions, as long as this black object is presented on the facade of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, means that the problem of non-financing still exists and is not solved and that the weed is increasingly invading the institution.

Let’s prevent weeds from spreading further. Elections are coming soon. Let’s prevent weeds from spreading. We are as poor as our government is poor. We are as rich as our art is rich. There are weeds in many societies, but nowhere is weed grown like in our country. As we talk about coexistence, we are not even aware that we actually need a healthy metabolism.

Biography

Armin Cosic (Eisenach, Germany, 1997) is a multidisciplinary artist and designer with a Master’s degree in Product Design from the Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (graduated in 2020).

Ćosić uses the technique of bricolage in designing products – garments and objects – by recycling small pieces of waste materials (textiles, plastic, cardboard, paper). In his works he explores the relation between the body and the garment (object) with the environment in a process of artificializing the identity of forms from nature. He is specialized in product design, recycling, fashion, costume and set design, visual arts, performance and video art, combining these during the design-process.