The Black Cat in Mostar
A beautiful city located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mostar is a place that has forever left an imprint in my life.
For those that don’t know, me and my partner Terry left England to travel with no plan in 2018. This lead to driving a 15-year-old (at the time) Peugeot 206 across ten borders, spanning nearly 5,500 miles and over two time zones in the space of 2 months before scrapping the car and flying to Asia for the next phase of our nomadic journey. You can actually read all about the trip to this specific city on my old travel blog post named “Memories of Mostar”.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a relatively new country having declared independence in 1992 (that’s just 2 years before I was born!) as a result of the fall of Yugoslavia. With a war that happened so recently, many divisions within the place and the reminiscence of war were still visible when I visited.
Evidence of the war was still very present, from bullet holes still visible in the most central location and old buildings that were used as sniper towers. There was definitely a feel of sombreness. However, Mostar overall is a beautiful and charming place.
Having just started our travels and spending all of it Europe up to this point, this place really got me. A city that embodied the meaning of East meets West. Walking down these streets, I felt like I was transported back in time to the Ottoman empire.
You know… I took many photos of this place. But of course, I chose one to use as my main reference.
It was only during the painting process and even as I am writing this that I started to understand why I chose it.
First of all… the building is lilac. You don’t have to spend 30 seconds on this website to know I love the color lilac.
But this had me shook!! I took the original photo 3 and a half years ago. Little did I know that when I took this photo, it was a local art gallery. It goes to show I’ve always had a strong affinity to the art world (even if I never fully explored it at the time). To paint this gallery and all the little paintings on display felt like it was meant to be. I wonder if I contacted the owner, would they recognise their own paintings in them?
Some finer details…
Not only is this piece a visual feast with each section worthy of a painting of their own, it is also a celebration of textures. I used a sand texture medium on all the bricks and borders around the windows. An impasto technique was used to create texture on the ground, imitating the feel of cobbled streets. Metallics were used for the antique store to create a play with light. This is the closest I have felt to the place since I was physically there.
One more thing worth mentioning is the mini paintings on the walls of the “art gallery”. Most of them take on the shape and form of a bridge. The paintings are all artworks of Stari Most aka The Mostar Bridge.
Originally built in the 16th Century under the Ottoman empire, the bridge stood in perfect condition for 427 years until 9th November 1993 when it was destroyed by shelling during the war. After the war had ended, a project was set in motion to restore it. The bridge was built back to the condition it was previously in, using only traditional methods. It was completed and open to the public again in 2004. Today, this bridge is a symbol of connection and unity between the people of Mostar (unity between the “East and West” of the city, if you would). It is now a UNESCO world heritage site.
The piece is steeped in local references and it is unsure whether the vibe I captured for this place is still this same because a lot can happen in just a few years, right? The black cat, however, seems to be the true enigma of this piece. Another element that captures the feeling of mystery in Mostar.
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