9 Questions with Denis Haračić

Denis Haračić (1991, Travnik) is a visual artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently based in Sarajevo.

The artist primarily uses combined techniques of printmaking, drawing, painting, and digital installation, trough, which he tends to question social structures and identity from both the individual and our group perspective.

Denis Haračić likes his work to seem somewhat archaic, dealing with existential and archetypal principles drawn from an intimate space, always moving towards universal messages of bare and exposed humanity. His ideas manifest themselves in anthropomorphic depictions of certain psychological situations, mostly trapped in a space between numb contemplation and monstrous dehumanization. There is something true regarding those mental states and their relevance to the modern world.

Our world is a place of extreme contrasts, and for all the things most of us carry inside, somewhere, it all erupts in a seemingly incomprehensible mess. The artist tries to understand the core questions of human needs and values and how they manifest in specific environments, especially since he lives in a very complicated social-political structure.

Since 2018, Haracic started his solo career. He exhibited his work at a few biennales and significant contemporary art exhibitions, such as the Berlin edition of "The Museum of Now," featuring 23 of his work as the youngest artist, along with world-renowned names as Amoako Boafo, Viktor Frešo, and Olek. In 2018 he made his master's degree in printmaking at the Academy of fine art in Sarajevo. Since 2016, Haračić has been exhibiting his work with his colleague Mirza Rahmanovic as artist duo ANIMA, focusing primarily on contemporary art, presenting their work at ten exhibitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, with a grand conclusion at the History Museum of BiH in 2018.

Haracic's latest work revolves around solo projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its region, mostly oriented to the psychological exploration of specific social structures.

denisharacic.com | @denisharacic

What kind of education or training helped you develop your skillset?

I attended the Academy of fine art in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I have earned a Master's degree in printmaking. The majority of my skillset is based on constant work and reflection upon that work. I also think it's important to stay in touch with your surroundings. Talking to colleges and knowing how to learn about your work by watching other artists' work helps. Sometimes we can't meet our full potential without acknowledging the potential others bare.

What experience of your life would you say that is reflected in your works of art?

I tend to make works of art that are coming from a very personal standpoint. As such, I would say that my art reflects most of my surroundings and most of my personal feelings, based on all experiences, mainly archetypal and universal. It's about basic human needs, which are translated to the struggle of living in modern-day society. I can also say that growing up in a post-war society such as Bosnia and Herzegovina has deeply molded my understanding of what I want to question trough my art. I have always tried to stay away from ideologies, group identities, and the highlighting of differences in the wrong way in general. Instead, I want to focus on the things that are related to all of us, things which are of human nature.

Your ideas manifest in anthropomorphic depictions of psychological situations that are trapped in a space between numb contemplation and monstrous dehumanization. What was it about this approach that inspired you?

I like the idea of an image that is a hint towards a story rather than a complete transcript. As I said, my art is figurative, reflecting on human ideas, and I like those figures to show just a glimpse of an isolated feeling, as pure as possible. That's why I find this state of "tabula rasa" in the way I do portraiture so exciting. It emits an idea of a person in a particular state of mind - lost, helpless, bare and exposed, but yet it doesn't give us too much of a hint to who that person is, making it more relatable to all of us. To conclude, the inspiration comes from a need to depict bare humanity without labeling it with faces, and humanity in this state does not always look pleasant. It seems like an empty shell ready to be taken over by the mind, and at its worst, it seems demonized, already gone too far within its fears and weaknesses.

You generally construct your figures from a variety of fabrics, whether combined techniques of printmaking, drawing, layered paintings, and often stitched together. How did you evolve this way of working?

I think it has a lot to do with my primary background as a printmaker. Printmaking and especially intaglio techniques demand an excellent knowledge of texture and layers of the work at hand. I like to construct my paintings and even drawings in the same way I did with my prints. I find this process more suiting to my nature as an artist. It allows me to explore the visual traits I feel are the closest to me. Finally, I combine all of those mediums to give me the artistic freedom to create my visual playground as a piece of art is coming along. Stitching works together, looking at certain phases they are in, keeping them and incorporating them into the final product that comes from the printmaking process as well. I have learned not to leave any valuable visual solution unused. My work has specific traits in its different states, and it should have the potential to be viewed as a complete piece of art.

What do you see as the strengths of your pieces, visually or conceptually?

Some of the visual strength is based on a specific technicality due to my classical education in art. For me, the strength of the pieces is an attempt to achieve universality in the ideas they are emitting. I think by doing this art can reach higher grounds. It allows me to explore very personal opinions, and yet I like to believe that those ideas can be easily interpreted through the experiences of other people. Art should have a transformative power to be flowing amongst people in a clear, understandable way, leaving enough space for self-interpretation.

Could you tell our readers about your unique pieces, "Totems"?

The totems are a series on which I started to work back in 2016. For all I can say about them, the inspiration behind the work comes from my fascination for pre-historical art. Early on in my work, I have discovered the convenience of telling a certain narrative trough simple stone-like shapes. I think this almost ritualistic depiction of an idea can uplift that idea into a transcendent state, giving it a sacral feeling. Also, in my opinion, the stone is such a great analogy to the human soul. It gives an impression of timelessness, but yet time leaves its marks on this seemingly indestructible material. If we know how to read it, we can uncover a lot of history behind it. The significance of the "Totems" as an ongoing series lies in this ability to convert any specific idea into such a sublime visual representation. For that manner, I would like to keep on working on this form of expression.

What obstacles do you face in making and exhibiting your work?

For me, obstacles are mainly manifesting in the difficulties of sustaining a professional approach to art in a country such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is still struggling on an economic and political level.

My work is hard to export in time due to a lot of bureaucracy. Materials can be hard to come by, an art market is almost but non-existent, and culture is degraded to a level where institutions such as museums and galleries are in danger of shutting down at all times. It is not a pleasant climate to be working as an artist, and sometimes it sure feels like all doors are closed, but on the upside, it does offer a lot of inspiration regarding people working in the field of culture especially. The sacrifices and work ethic of those people remind me daily not to forget the significance of the role of culture, in general, in any society. I find that the collective sense of persistence is most admirable, and it keeps me still in the hope of a better future for art and culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Any shows, galleries, or publications where our readers can find your work?

My last show "16/4, embedded truth" I created completely during lockdown can still be seen at an online gallery on my website (https://denisharacic.com/post/embedded-truth/), as for my current work, the Museum of Now in Berlin is harboring a good amount of it, and it will be shown alongside their future salons. Everything else about me and my art can be found on my web page and on my social media, where I try to keep people engaged and updated as much as possible.

Denis, Share something you would like the world to know about you?

All I can share for now is that I am working on a new, more significant exhibition project that should be happening somewhere in September or October, heavily depending on the uncertainty we are facing because of the pandemic. Until then, I am enjoying the process of creating and incorporating new ideas into my art pieces.