GREY SKIES BLACK BIRDS
26 September 2016

GREY SKIES BLACK BIRDS

December 14th 2015 marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Agreement, the treaty that brought an end to the Bosnian War. This long-term project aims to give a face to the cities and landscapes whose names are familiar in the collective memory. GREY SKIES BLACK BIRDS also presents the faces of the country itself, examining the impact of the post-war situation on the individuals born before, during and after the conflict.

The photographs were taken between 2013 and 2015 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They show rural and urban landscapes bearing the traces and echoes, both obvious and hidden, of a troubled and somber history. Many of the landscape are presented as diptychs, the gaps between the pairs of images echoing the political, ethnic and religious divisions of the country. The portraits suggest a mixture of hope and disillusionment whilst overcoming a difficult past.

‘Despite of the extraordinary beauty of the region, a feeling of fear and mistrust towards scenery made us photograph the landscapes from a distance. How to trust the soil, knowing what it could hide and what, we sadly still discover today? Twenty years have passed but the country, which is so close but yet so far away, still seems convalescent. Passing through a long and painful period of transition, it tries to find the balance that could permanently heal its wounds.’ Stéphanie Borcard and Nicolas Métraux

GREY SKIES BLACK BIRDS has been published as a trilingual monograph (EN/DE/FR) with texts by Saša Stanišić, Srećko Latal and Christian Caujolle.
Published by GOST Books, London. Since 2016, Grey Skies Black Birds is part of the permanent collection of the Fotostiftung in Winterthur, CH.

This feature is represented by
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"Silhouette
"Ibro
As Night Falls - Night falls over the wooded hills surrounding Srebrenica.  Eastern Bosnia, March 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"As
"The
"The
"UN
"Han
"Han
"On
Meša - Meša, 23 years old Srebrenica, March 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Overgrown
"Goats
"Sarajevo
Samra - Samra, 23 years old Tuzla, March 2015 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
Grey Skies Black Birds - Dark clouds above. A flock of birds fly overhead.  Sarajevo, March 2015 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Graffiti
Adis - Adis, 28 years old Tuzla, November 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Firewood
"Klinje
"Gacko
"Gacko
"Melancholia
Elma - Elma, 23 years old Tešanj, March 2015 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Night
"Azra
"Twigs
"In
Last snow of the year in Bosnia - The last snow of the season covers the scrubland of southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Near Neum, March 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux - Trebinje - Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina - Bosnie-Herzégovine -
Last snow of the year in Bosnia - The last snow of the season covers the scrubland of southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Near Neum, March 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux - Trebinje - Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina - Bosnie-Herzégovine -
"Pale
"General
Elma - Elma, 20 years old Tuzla, March 2015 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
Hotelroom - The country’s youth are under immense pressure to fit in to the established ethnic and religious models of the country. Zenica, March 2015 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Drina
"Goražde
"Sutjeska
"Hong
Eldar - Eldar, 26 years old Tuzla, March 2015 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
Madame Vigée-Lebrun und ihre Tochter - Madame Vigée-Lebrun and Her Daughter Printed on a chocolate box, the reproduction has been carefully cut out for display. Srebrenik, November 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
Sarajevo cityscape - Cityscape from the roof terrace of the Awaz tower, the tallest building in the country. Sarajevo, November 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
Sarajevo cityscape - Cityscape from the roof terrace of the Awaz tower, the tallest building in the country. Sarajevo, November 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Mass
"Mass
"Mass
"Mass
Still life - Still life with apple, oranges and pomegranate.  Mostar, in November 2013 - Copyright © © S. Borcard - N. Metraux -
"Jasmina
"Blossoming
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