An iconic wartime photo, seen as a symbol of Sarajevo’s defiance, inspired the artist Adis Lukac to craft a statue after the depicted woman and display it in a downtown gallery.
Elegantly dressed, Sarajevan Meliha Varesanovic was passing by a shelter with sand bags in the Dobrinja suburb of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo. When she saw British photographer Tom Stoddart, she held her head high up and looked straight into his camera as if she was on the catwalk and not shot at in Sarajevo.
The photo quickly became famous as did Varesanovic. She became a symbol of resistance and was credited with bringing glamour to the war.
Lukac is showing the sculpture at Sarajevo’s “Java” gallery as part of his “O zeni” (about the woman) exhibition. Varesanovic herself visited the exhibition.
Lukac told N1 his wish was for the sculpture to become a monument to women.
“The photo of the heroine in war-torn Sarajevo, Mrs. Meliha Varesanovic, and her way of moving inspired me to create this sculpture,” he said.
Lukac also watched interviews with Varesanovic.
“That pride, that strength, that defiance she displayed throughout the war is a symbol of resistance, of the absence of hatred and absence of the desire for vengeance,” he said.
For Lukac, Varesanovic is proof that gentle creatures like her are strong enough to endure the most difficult situations.
