Life is elsewhere*
Nostalgia is very present in Bosnian & Herzegovinian (BiH) society - Yugoslavia and Tito's rule is remembered almost in a utopic way. The objective of this project was to explore a self-sufficient lifestyle of a diminishing community in BiH; to present a visual discourse of a world which seems so ethereal that could provoke nostalgia for a simpler way of life. At the same time, the work tries to evoke issues that society in BiH faces as a whole.
In the height of consumerist culture, and what feels like an extremely technologically connected world, this project explores an alternative lifestyle - one that feels so far removed from ‘normal’ daily life. In the tiny village of Vrdi, above the city of Mostar in BiH, lives Manda, an 83 year old widow.
Brain drain is a huge issue in BiH - in the last few years 150,000 young people have left the country and 60% aspire to leave. There are now no children living full-time in the village of Vrdi. There is no school. One family has two children, but they are sent to a Catholic boarding school over an hour’s drive away. Families often come to the village at the weekend, bringing grandchildren to visit their grandparents. A favourite topic of conversation for Manda on Monday mornings with her neighbour is who came to visit over the weekend and what they cooked for them. Vrdi is like a microscopic picture of BiH - so many leaving and only coming back to visit at holiday season.
Most of the residents of Vrdi live self-sustainably and share produce. The village only got electricity 15 years ago. The majority of what Manda consumes is produced in the land which surrounds her and her neighbours houses. Yet Vrdi is so cut off from regular life in BiH, that the government’s rubbish disposal service does not come to collect waste. The nearest collection is a half hour’s drive away - this has led to the abandonment of plastic and other refuse which will not decompose on hillside. Much of these goods are brought by families visiting for the weekend who do not have to live with the consequences of abandoned waste on their land. The environment or climate change is far from being a priority at the political level in BiH.
*Translation of lyrics from the song by Ex-Yugoslavian rock band ‘Zabranjeno Pušenje’ (1987) Danas je Dan Republike:
“Žao mu je što neki misle “I’m sad that some think
Da je život negdje drugdje That life is elsewhere
I ne sanja se više stari san And they don’t dream dreams of old
Čekaju pasoš da odu van” They wait for passports to leave the country”