In November 1998 I left my battered Škoda parked up in snowy Tuzla, northeastern Bosnia, and flew to Edinburgh to work with Stephanie Wolfe Murray on the last draft of my introduction to Bosnian War Posters. I also went to write with Alina Wolfe Murray; together she and I composed the first draft of the captions that accompany the posters. Alina was my research assistant in Bosnia. She had just married Rupert Wolfe Murray, which made her Stephanie’s daughter-in-law. Bosnian War Posters would never have come to be without the substantial input of the Wolfe Murray clan. Also, one of Rupert’s good friends was the photographer Steven Gordon, from Glasgow. Steve had been in Bosnia for several years shooting the war for Scottish media, and he helped us record the posters we found.
Stephanie (the founder of Canongate Books) came to the airport to pick me up. She housed and fed me for the next four or five weeks. I remember my time in her terraced town house with nostalgia and gratitude. I’ll never forget her prowling around the kitchen eating porridge, telling me that ancient Scottish knights ate like that, on their feet, since they had to be ready to fight at the shortest notice. Meanwhile, my battles to get my graphic design/political history book written, designed, and published were only just beginning. Those battles concluded this year—in time for the 30th anniversary of the Bosnian war—with the arrival of Bosnian War Posters, published by Interlink Books.
Where did it all begin, this epic work that has occupied me on and off for the last quarter of a century? It began with a simple idea: posters produced by Bosnians during the war might hold the key to telling a fascinating first-hand story, I thought, about what happened, who did what to whom and why, between 1992–95. I had this idea in Tuzla in late-1997. And between then and when I went to Edinburgh a year later, Alina and I found 700 examples of graphic design that told the whole sad story. We unearthed not only posters, but magazine covers and postcards; and not only in Bosnia, but also in Croatia and Serbia: leading players in Bosnia’s destruction. We included “democracy-building” posters from international organisations, “WANTED” posters for war criminals, and a lot more besides.
As anyone older than the Internet Age knows, before the end of the last century posters were a vital means of mass communication. And this tool was used with maximum effect to spread a powerful message about the injustices of the Bosnian war. Most of the posters we found were produced by Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), although Bosnian War Posters contains images from all sides. It also has some great contemporary photos of Bosnia taken by Rupert in 2021, as well as a selection of highly-emotive photos from the war period.
When I look at Bosnian War Posters today, I see that the book is much more than I imagined it could be. It shows us not only that the human spirit is indomitable, but that human creativity is, too. I imagine the same forces are at play in Ukraine right now. Like everyone, I look forward to the end of Russia’s brutal attempt at conquest—and also to seeing how Ukrainian artists responded to the horrors that are enveloping them. Art teaches us as much about war as journalism, but in very different ways.
Bosnian artists did their country proud, and I am happy that with many people’s help I was able to save this priceless information. It has a lot to teach us, and a lot to teach young Bosnians—which is why supporting the crowdfunding campaign is so important in the next couple of weeks. Finally, I have to tell all those who knew and loved Stephanie: Bosnian War Posters is dedicated to her.
It’s great to see the connection between this valuable art/history book and my late mother in Edinburgh. Not only did she inspire Daoud to pull this book together but she inspired me to write, edit and publish, and run projects in Eastern Europe — as well as so many other people, both within my family and around the world. It came as a wonderful surprise when I learned that the author had dedicated this book to her. ~ Rupert Wolfe Murray
Love hearing about the development of this fascinating and vital project. Totally inspiring to hear about Stephanie’s and other family members involvement to bring the work to light. Congratulations and fitting dedication.
Simone