The Glass Pyramid

That is just one sculpture. It was made by my Professor, Mustafa Skopljak, at the Art Academy in Sarajevo. This was made during the war in Sarajevo. And for me, it represents the courage of one town under siege and the people who live there. This is made from fragments of broken glass windows, and buildings in Sarajevo. And the title of this sculpture is Glass Pyramid, some kind of spiritual strength and courage. This sculpture was part of an installation during the siege in Sarajevo, the title was: Witness of the Existence. It was organized in the devastated building of the Red Cross. And it was amazing how powerful artists are, and it takes courage to be an artist. So in Sarajevo during the war, art was a way of coping and resisting the destruction of war, like creative energy. And we were trying to continue normal life under very abnormal circumstances.

That's why I chose this artifact, this sculpture, which the wife of my professor gave to me as a birthday present. And I remember when I was trying to study at the Art Academy in Sarajevo, and during the entrance exam, Professor Skopljak was encouraging me not to give up art and trying to be an artist during the war and study art and that was very important. He is, for me, a very brave man. And he was my teacher and my model on how to survive and how to understand art during the war.

-J