Several years ago, I had close contact with social media when I joined Instagram in order to have an additional bond with my daughter, Sara. It took me more than a year and one deeply disturbing illness to give up Instagram which had in the meantime become my passion. Instagram is a social media where you communicate through photographs, but I realised that my strength lies in my words.
However, several good things did come out of the time I spent on Instagram. First of all, I learned that there are fabulous, exceptional, and talented artists who do not need words to speak, they can speak through their pictures. One of them was a young man from Sarajevo that became famous for the outstanding beauty of his photographs that he published under the nickname, Highlander. When I got in touch with Highlander I had around one hundred followers on Instagram while he had ten thousand. Still he spotted a few of my comments in which I expressed my admiration for his photographs and somehow, he soon began leaving comments below my posts. We started to speak in private and he gave me one of the nicest compliments about my appearance that I have ever received:
Me: “I know you are young; I just do not know how young you are.”
Highlander: “What…you are only 2-3 years older than me; I’ll be 36 soon.”
Me: “My daughter is 16 years old and I gave a birth at the age of 33.”
Highlander: “Never, I would never have said that about you!!!”
We had numerous conversations, but Highlander was not open to speaking about serious subjects such as the war in Sarajevo or his life as a refugee in Ljubljana. During one conversation, I tried to discuss something serious, but I took offence when he did not want to. I told him that maybe people see their own depth in his photographs and not his. Unfortunately, he never forgave me for this and so we never met in person. I visited Sarajevo twice, because of my love for this wonderful city which was born through his photographs. I was not too worried about not seeing him as I knew I will keep going back to Sarajevo as long as I live.
The thing I never expected, happened a year and a half ago, Highlander suddenly died at the young age of 38. Sadly, this exceptionally talented young man does not live any more, but his photographs still seem so alive. I am posting a few of them here, that I found online, in memory of him.
Kristina
Friday, September 18th, 2020
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