Armin Graca
Traces of Lineage, 2024

Series of photographs, inkjet prints, dimensions variable.
Courtesy of the artist.

My knowledge of my grandfather, Omer, is limited. I know only that he was born in Sjenica, Serbia, and held a prominent position as a government official in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. His image exists solely in family photographs. They portray a tall, imposing figure, with a dark complexion and an ever clean-shaven face.

My father seldom discusses his own father. What is left of him are some photographs, a few documents, and personal items; a testament to the enigmatic figure, whom I never had the chance to meet. His life, shrouded in myth and reality, serves as the focal point of my exploration into the intricacies of familial bonds and the echoes of the past in the present.

Through the lens of photography, I embark on a journey to uncover the traces of his existence, to breathe life into the silhouette of a man obscured by time.

I start my journey by talking to my father. Through meeting him, I feel like I am threading the narrow path of my past. A part of my grandfather lives in him, and through him in me. I meet these parts when we sit down for our daily morning coffee. This is our thing. Father’s many cigarettes, two coffees, and one storyline that I follow.

In its many forms, identity emerges as a central theme in this project. As I sift through memories and anecdotes, I confront the transient nature of identity, molded by loss and shaped by the passage of time. Omer's legacy, intertwined with my father’s and my own, becomes a testament to the fluidity of selfhood and the enduring power of lineage.  

Each photograph becomes a witness to the interplay between myth and reality, capturing the essence of a man whose presence lingers in the shadows of my consciousness. I aim to piece together the fragments of Omer's life, weaving a tapestry of remembrance that transcends the boundaries of individual experience.

Then and Again. Rethinking Ritual in Contemporary Balkans; the project by Goethe-Institut, in collaboration with MIET-National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, supported by MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography.

All photographs are copyrighted by © Stergios Karavatos. All rights reserved. The photographs showcase the "Traces of Lineage" exhibition by Armin Graca