SAŠA MASKS

Photo: Imrana Kapetanovic, Word: Marina Nikolic

Sasa is a Bosnian designer working in different countries with a very different approach to creativity and everyday life. From the Balkans to Canada, through Japan to Sweden and then Bosnia Sasa developed his very own authentic signature in Design and Art. He creates designs for apparel and holds workshops, but he is also famous for his design masks for faces, where he is: "masking to unmask people". WEAST asked Sasa to share his perception of the places he lived and worked, while inquiring what influenced him the most

How did you come up with the idea for the "Sasa Masks"? 

In Tokyo I was working for 7 For All Mankind, the project was to dress their shop windows, which I did using a gazillion paper constructs. Once the project was finished I brought home all of that paper and the idea was born with Yuki, my friend, posing covered in papers. 

You lived in lots of different places. What would you define as homeland?

 I think it’s one of those 'home is where the heart is' clichés, but it really is that. I used to say home is a place where my mom is, a sense of belonging was the bond, and I think it is a bond for many, parent-child connections. Now, since she is gone, home is here and there, and everywhere. Hard to pinpoint especially since I travel a lot and go through motions, from city to city. A few weeks ago I was in Rijeka, Croatia creating masks on city statues and holding workshops for kids and adults, and was taken by how beautiful Rijeka is, so I kept saying to my friends, this is my home today. At the moment home is in Banja Luka (Bosnia) via Malmo (Sweden). I got family in one and a creative partner family in another.

Which countries and culture have intensely influenced your work? 

Hard to pinpoint, because every country I lived in added a layer to my work. Sarajevo, where I am from, is one of those larger than life places, where east meets west, where religions and customs are intertwined into a confusing maze. Sarajevo gave me the complexity, before the turbulent war and after the shit storm former Yugoslavia went through and my growing up on the streets, free. Furthermore, Sarajevo is a very cynical city. Jokes are delivered by the hour, a sense of desperation turns into a laughing matter, which can be seen in lot of my work and my social media posts. I tend to play with words and images, serving layers of my style and social commentary in, I hope, a different way.

What else had an impact?

However, my life in Canada was smooth sailing, work in a music shop, my college years and creative direction at design studio, amazing people gave me a sense of responsibility and also friendly approach all Canadians are known for. I worked really hard in Calgary, where I lived for over nine years, building my sense of self, especially through my four years at Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD), where I had the freedom to delve into many aspects of art. I worked with ceramics, wood, plastic, paper, paint, acrylic resin, photo development. Sadly, my generation was the last to learn photo film development at ACAD.

Calgary in Canada sounds peaceful comparing to Sarajevo… And then… Japan?

Japan was an entirely different ball game from everything I expected, something I often say when talking about Japan. Most people have a romantic idea, which is perfectly valid. I had the same idea, about the life, people in general and cultural richness, which to this day in many ways, is unsurpassed in Japan. I believe, being an island country, they were able to bring many influences from China, apply their spin and retain the quality throughout centuries. Not to say that other countries are not as rich, simply that Japan has the 'weird' element of abstraction that other nations might not have. In that sense, Japan has influenced me to see the mundane and bizarre as unique. I can see that with my masks here in Bosnia, where last week I was taking a picture of a friend and two young men were walking by, showing disgust at her face and the mask she was wearing. They were repulsed by it. One of them was christening himself, as if to protect himself from the devil girl with a mask. Something I would never expect in Japan, especially with young people who are open to all that is new and different. In that sense, Japan was a great stepping stone in my evolution.

Japan also helped me in terms of my intent to be more productive. I found myself in a supremely small apartment. Words can't describe how small it was compared to my life in Canada and the amount of space I had in Calgary. This pushed me to create small in scale work, but still be involved in the process, which is how my hand painted original t-shirts and apparel came about. Ten years later I had a gallery represent my illustrations, reproduced on apparel at LADE clothing. Also, the masks were the project where I could involve other people, without needing too much space. My first series was all shot at my apartment, against the white wall next to the window, which was a100 cm from the models. Masks also gave me the mobility I needed to create anywhere I wanted. I just needed paper, scissors, a model and a camera to photograph it all. 

And what happend after?

Last but not least is Belgrade. Nestled between the Danube and Sava rivers, Belgrade introduced me to the triple threat, as I like to call them. 3M photographers, Maja, Milica and Mina, with whom I collaborated on more than one occasion. With them, I actually stepped into a stronger production mode, delivering higher resolution images and conceptually more rounded work, when it comes to my mask work. I am so grateful to have had these three years in Belgrade , where I met some amazing people, without whom I wouldn't have been where I am now.

Also, Belgrade had its mean moments, but that story is just too juicy for this interview.

My latest creative home is in Malmö, where in 2015 I was part of the residency program at STPLN makers space, particularly återSKAPA creative reuse education center, with which I am working on a number of projects. One of them being OTIH, a fun way for kids to construct architectural chaos around themselves.

Were there moments abroad you remember, which have changed your perception about people and their culture?

Every country I lived in changed my perception. from the top down and vice versa, that's for sure. As I have said, we all bring our projections along, depending on how much we want to see and be seen, we will change and leave that country with a different perception. Every place I visited, I have a different understanding of, for sure. 

How did you camed to the idea for the "Sasa Masks"?

In Tokyo I was working for 7 For All Mankind, project was to dress their shop windows which I did, using gazillion paper constructs. Once the project was finished I brought home all of that paper and the idea was born with Yuki posing covered in papers.

Do you think you influence Banja Luka with your work on the environment?

Time will tell.

Were there moments abroad that reminded you?

Every country I lived in changed my perception from the top down and vice versa, that's for sure. As I have said in the previous answer, we all bring our projections along, depending on how much we want to see and be seen we will change and leave that country with a different perception. Every place I visited I have a different understanding, for sure.

Sasa, do you think you influence Banja Luka with your work, to open up and see the environment differently? 

Time will tell. I am involved in bringing attention to the ever-growing threat from mini hydropower plants, which are popping up almost everywhere at this point. Politicians are aiming for a quick buck, by dissecting some of the wildest and pristine rivers in Europe at the moment. They are being subsidized by the state, turning a profit at the expense of tax payers and the destruction of our rivers.

What inspires you daily? 

I don't think of inspiration. I just know my calling in life is making stuff, doing workshops, masking people…