Class of 2008 collects the graduation portraits of the 26 students who attended the Islamic High School in Zagreb during the academic year of 2007-2008. The publication title generically indicates an unnamed class at a specific moment in time. We rely on the image, and, above all, the sitters’ culture-specific attire, to roughly locate the setting. What makes these images so singular is the fact that the depicted adolescents were enrolled in the only high school for Muslims in the pre-dominantly Christian Croatian society. Most likely due to financial reasons, no other graduating class was ever officially documented up to this date.
Miletic consciously favoured the Risograph technique, which is commonly used for high-volume digital printing, photocopying, and distribution, and therefore a timely medium to voice and spread ideas on issues of politics, religion, and identity. While the inside pages are coated in timeless and objective black-and-white shades, the cover adopts the color green for its centuries-long symbolic association with Islam. Enclosed with the yearbook is a blank envelope containing the current self-portraits of the same persons, which were selected and submitted by the subjects themselves. Printed on high-gloss photo paper and cut in various dimensions, these highly personal, casual and amateurish portraits reveal the degree of formality which determined the memory of the Class of 2008. In a striking contrast, the young women wore, without exception, the traditional hijab for their public image, while most chose to present and represent themselves veil less in the private sphere. (Caroline Dumalin)

More info: http://www.hanamiletic.com

Available from: http://www.artpapereditions.org

Hana Miletic is a Croatian-born artist based in Brussels. Her work gathers, documents and questions contemporary phenomena related to cultural identities often located in the margins of European cities. The artist’s personal experience of being an immigrant has brought about a strong awareness for how individuals externalize identity through representation. As a consequence, Miletic primarily studies the difficulty of depicting through images the complex state of multiculturalism. Documentary photography lies at the core of Miletic’s practice, however, she no longer considers it to be a strictly photographic discipline. Miletic uses photography as a catalyst within the working process to mainly create book works. Through the use of specific printing techniques and non-photographic processes the artist draws attention to the difference between the reading of a photographic image and the material form in which the image appears. Furthermore, she often incorporates third-party imagery (collaborations) into her projects to create a dialogue that is necessary when engaging with a variable social reality. Miletic studied art history and archaeology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. She currently researches and lectures in photography at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels.

APE (Art Paper Editions) is an independent publishing platform that was founded in 2010 by Jurgen Maelfeyt and Caroline De Malsche. APE focuses on the book as an exhibition space and works with artists and institutions.

Publisher’s website: http://www.artpapereditions.org