Kasja Jerlagić (1996) is a multidisciplinary artist from Sarajevo. She has a BFA in Printmaking from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo; she has worked in several local galleries (11/07/95, Duplex 100m2, Charlama Depot), founded and led the art-activist collective ODRON (2018-2022), organizing events at the intersection of art, culture and politics. During the pandemic she started doing handicraft: embroidering on discarded fabric, weaving on a DIY loom, and making tapestries of different sizes. Her artistic output is eclectic, but the common thread is a desire for political action, articulating emotional truths, and questioning of our place in a system that is hostile to humanity. She likes to consider herself a propagandist of a utopia that doesn’t exist yet.

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“It Was So Gorgeous It Almost Felt Like Sadness”

The quote is from the novel “Kitchen” by Banana Yoshimoto, and it speaks of a moment of great happiness that is equally bitter due to the awareness of its transience. The tapestry was created during such a period of my life – I know it’s beautiful, but that’s precisely why it’s painful. The present moment is beautiful, and yet I already miss it.