This work follow Hasanović Mersudin and his son Edah along the Drina. It is a journey that traces a human existence encompassed by the river’s time. Father and son guide us into the timeless flow of the Drina, where their personal history is embedded. The viewer enter into a constellation of intertwined elements where humanity and nature, past and present, connect through generations and memory.
The Drina River has been a witness to radical political changes over centuries. Once a mere regional boundary, today a large portion of the border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia follows its course, a division cemented by the geopolitical shifts of the 20th century. The river bore silent witness to the dissolution of empires, the formation of new nations, and the violent conflicts that redrew the map of the Balkans. From the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian rule to the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, the Drina has seen borders shift and identities fracture. Yet, this border, though politically defined, contrasts with the river’s timeless role in shaping the communities along its banks—an ecosystem both physical and imagined. Layered narratives unfold along its waters, revealing histories of tragedy and renewal. This river is a repository of folktales, legends, and cultural identities. Like a mother, she bears the memories of generations that have drifted away and carries new ones forward into an uncertain future. For much of its journey the Drina carves its way through deep gorges, its banks rising sharply on either side. In rare places, the land opens up, revealing fertile valleys, where small houses, fruit trees, and cultivated fields contrast with the roughness of the steep ravines.
. This project seeks to highlight a region positioned on the margins of the European Federation, a place caught in political limbo since the Dayton Agreement. After the war that profoundly scarred this land, depopulation has defined its recent history. Only on July 11th, during the annual genocide commemoration, do thousands return to Potočari and Srebrenica to remember. This year the commemoration marks the thirtieth anniversary of the genocide and, like never before, we must remember. Yet beyond the weight of history, I have been drawn to the everyday persistence of life here—the rhythms of the river, the resilience of those who remain, and the unspoken bond between people and land. Bosnia’s narrative often centres on the war and while the Srebrenica genocide commemoration is a significant part of the region’s history, My project focuses on the wonders of nature and the ongoing cycle of life. Through my work, I seek to capture not only the lingering echoes of trauma but mostly the spirit of the present. These photographs do not follow a traditional narrative structure. Instead, they offer a visual exploration of interconnected threads, linking human’s life and a river—fragments of existence flowing together in time and memory.
Waterline is the initial phase of a larger, ongoing project.