Welcome to Sarajevo

Painting: Oil on Canvas
Size: 180×180 cm

During the siege of the city of Sarajevo (April 1992-February 1996), 85% of the casualties were civilians. Years after the end of the war, I stayed for a while at the house (what was left of it) of a lawyer named Suleiman. When I met him he was 34 years-old, but he looked like he was 50. One night he told me what the siege meant for the people of Sarajevo, who attempted to lead normal lives under daily bombings. He told me that his wife had been murdered by a sniper; his two daughters died when a bomb fell on the house, and he had pulled four of his missing teeth in anger. He concluded: “Welcome to Sarajevo Marc.”