A story from a dough that smells of the future
In time when children draw the selves, and apps add lashes, Nadir Zaimović line – sorrow. War. Stories you don’t know if they hurt you more or make you blush from shame. He is 16 years old. He holds a pen in his hand. The soul of Bosnia remains on paper.
Nadira is the author illustration in the book “Bloody country of Bosnian”a shocking part whose author Erna Alić and Đula Hanić.
What did the moment look like when you found out that you would illustrate the book on the war?
Nadira: I thought it wasn’t real. I was the fear first. Can I take that out? Then I realized it wasn’t a drawing call – but to feel. And I took a pen as others take a penny.
Did you know that you would step into the world in which there is no children’s “Undo” button?
Nadira: I did. And I wanted that. I wanted my first step to be hard. Because if I can draw a war – I can draw anything.
Why are you drawing?
Nadira: Because I don’t know how to tell everything I feel. The pen understands me better than people. When I draw, I stop to exist. Only paper remains and something worse inside.
But … Mechanical school? How is the color to manage among steels and files?
Nadira: Great! I learn precision. I learned to respect the line. And when I master her, I can break it. Art and Mechanical Engineering are like two opposites that are secretly loving.
What would they tell those who think art is not the “real thing”?
Nadira: Let them try to live without her. No music, no color, no stories. When war comes, everyone is looking for food. When it’s over – they’re looking for meaning. They give them artists.
A dream about the art academy – how much is it, and how much is it?
Nadira: One hundred percent plan. I know it will be hard. I know there’s a lot of us. But I’m going. And I’m not going to be better than others – but better than yesterday.
Who is your model?
Nadira: All those who draw and when nobody looks at them. That draw when they are sad. When they hurt. Who do not seek aplause. Just peace.
When you drew scenes from “Bloody Earth” – how did you decide what you would draw?
Nadira: I didn’t decide my head. I just read texts and closed my eyes. What I felt stronger – that’s more lines came out.
What did you learn from that experience?
Nadira: That a drawing can say more than a thousand words. And that sadness is the quietest when it is drawn.
Imagine your life is a comic. What is the name of the first episode?
Nadira: “A girl who draws the silence.”
When this girl puts a signature on the canvas, we will know – it’s not just a name. It is a signature of one quiet revolution. She doesn’t ask the scene. But the scene is looking for her.
And yes, when you meet it on the street, it may not say a lot. But he will look at you as paper. And draw what you don’t know you don’t know in yourself.
