Happy New Yea!
…or how I almost died and had a perfect year in my life

For Christmas 2014 I lost my basic health insurance. One month latter I suffered from bad case of atypical pneumonia, most likely caused by smog and working in wet and cold conditions. I had to go to private doctor who was afraid that I had advanced stage of lung cancer and should be admitted immediately to hospital. Without insurance I was unable to, so next weeks I was pumped with 3 types of antibiotics and various other powerful stuff, that helped me recover in the following 3 months. This also burned all my family savings, money for my planned new solo exhibition for 2015, and my will to work on anything in 2015. I also realized in this period that it is time for me to cut ties to everything and everyone who was bringing me down, to stop playing beggars game. I gave all my colors to my friends and looked forward to dedicate full time to my family.

Older brothers or how my New Year begin in March

In beginning of March I got email from Giorgio and Mario, basically saying we have this workshops coming, one confirmed, one unconfirmed and one still in the air, and we didn’t have a chance to do anything together last year so would you be interested to be guest artist on any of those, do some new Great Waves, and as they put it:

We propose you the Great wave but, if you have other proposals, wishes, inspirations, please, just tell us. For us it is important to have you here 😉

There is more love in this sentence than one nearly- dying Bosnian can bear.

And from that point my New Year 2015 started. For the New Year’s shouldn’t start with utter emptiness of a spirit, but with something new and beautiful. I said yes to everything good, and no to downpressors for good.

Soon after this email, in May, my wife received email that she was officially invited to be a guest professor at Sophia University, Tokyo, and that she could come with the whole family. It is the beginning of the realisation of my third major dream – Dream of going to Japan. My first dream was marrying my wife, my second was to have children with her, and now I am on my way to experience my third greatest dream with my family, I guess this is part where to insert Dean Martin´s lyrics

How lucky can one guy be?
I kissed her and she kissed me
Like a fella once said
“Ain’t that a kick in the head?”

By the end of the May I spent a week at the Center for the Abandoned Children Duga in Kulen Vakuf, where I painted with children this beautiful triptych
and after that spent a wonderful day with my friends that I haven’t seen for ages.

In June, at first workshop, I painted Lupin the III -Leggenda della Grande Onda or The Great Wave of Torino di Sangro, Italy, my 9th Great Wave and my first painting featuring Lupin III characters. Also I found out that Italy was crazy about Lupin III. Including Mario and Giorgio. I also met Stoyan Kamburov aka Stuci, from Bulgaria, hang out with my friend Nataša, annoyed Gigi with Trabucco, had a shave with Mario at local barber shop, had a photo with the captain of Carabinieri, learned magical word vaffanculo.
Been in Italy.

So I thought to myself, this is not bad, enough, I could stay home and wait till the time comes to fly to the promised island. And it didn’t stop there, in September I visited Italy again, for another workshop, where I had opportunity to continue Lupin III story, do little something for my ARCI friends, and finally had something for my older brother, Giorgio “Papa” Micoli. It was ten days of hard work but also filled with joyful memories, an all- night chillout on ferryboat at Adriatic sea with Mario, chilling out on terrace of the apartment of Maria Gracia and Lino, eating delicious food and drinking… Eating fresh mozzarella made by mama Rita, remembering some distant and forgotten memories, witnessing (WITNESS) true power of Redži Unchained aka Dejan Mijatović.

And then out of the thin air came the workshop in Verviers.
Yeah, yeah, this is not Margaret,
but one more great Great Wave!

Found out that Belgium (like Europe) is another route dégradée, with messed up people but some of them are really, really great, just the way I like them. And maybe one day, I will open up barbecue shop in Xhoffraix, if everything else fails. Or maybe if the same crew gathers again.

Went to Amsterdam, checked the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum, confirmed my theory that Van Gogh went nuts when he saw ukiyo-e prints, and I didn’t go to Burger King.

So yeah… yeah!

November, Srdjan Tunic´s paper about my work was published in magazine Kultura (Culture) no# 147 in Serbia. You can find much deeper things in my work by reading it here (in Serbian).

And then there was Corto Maltese, a cherry on top, a winter’s dream of previous summer and a promise of new one.

Than sad thing happened, my master, David Bowie passed away, and for his views on arts I am thankful.

I’m not a gangster, I’m a

So February 2015, one year latter, I find myself sitting with my wife, celebrating. We got visa for Japan. Just a year ago I was dying, I threw all my wishes away for new art, and here I am, a year full of great things, waiting for New Year to start in a few days in Japan.

As a conclusion, you don’t need money if you already got honey.

To whom should I give thanks and praises

To God some say, to the almighty Matrix said others, but I say to my older brothers Mario and Georgio, who started my year with the single email. And gave a wind to my series of Great Waves.

To Yves “Willow” Reuchamps who accepted my inner Balkan. To Martin “We need to come up with the nickname here” Kleinfelder for Marzan, because if you don´t know Marzan you’ve never been to Berlin.

To professor Taro Komatsu, who invited my wife to Sophia Uni, and created this amazing opportunity for my family to experience Japan.

A thanks to all my friends who encouraged or enabled me to do my art, made my life a bit easier and in a process had a fun! Old ones and new ones.

For I’m not a pornstar, I’m not a white star, I’m not a wandering star,

I’m not a popstar, I’m not a film star, I’m not a gangstar,

I’m not rasta

I’m a

I’m a

I’m a

 

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