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In the Manuš Gallery in Split, two artworks by Kemil Bekteši, 250°C and GGM 20, come together in a compact exhibition titled Malta, which explores themes of identity, labor, migration, and social hierarchies. Drawing on personal stories and his own family heritage (Malta being the name of the bakery where the artist’s father works), Bekteši examines how manual labor and its symbolism shape both individual and collective identities while positioning himself self-referentially as both a witness and a protagonist within this discourse. The works also offer a subtle critique of labor as the foundation for creating surplus value, a concept articulated by the Situationists, who saw labor as a source of social inequality and alienation, as well as the principal mechanism of perpetuating capitalist hierarchies.  
The work 250°C is rooted in the artist’s personal history, as his father is a baker, and the title refers to the temperature at which bread is typically baked. The artist uses his father’s tools – old, worn-out, grease-stained baking trays marked with traces of dough – to convey the physical and emotional effort invested in daily work. By covering these relics with gold leaf, he transforms them into symbols of social recognition. In this way Bekteši challenges the hierarchies of the capitalist system, which often undervalues manual labor although it is fundamental to everyday life.
Similar to Robert Rauschenberg’s early dirt and gold paintings, Bekteši evokes the tension between purity and impurity, the acceptable and the unacceptable, the normative and the deviant. However, unlike Rauschenberg, who ideologically juxtaposed dirt with luxury, Bekteši literally overlays it with gold, elevating the mundane labor of baking into a metaphor for societal contribution and recognition. This reflects the artist’s own position within the symbolic structure of society—as someone who records, comments on, and translates meanings across different contexts. The work 250°C also connects to the artist’s Kosovar heritage, as the baking profession is stereotypically associated with Kosovars in the region, where the ethnonym  “Shqiptar” has turned into the derogatory “Shiptar” that reflects cultural and social prejudices against Albanians from Kosovo. The work thus not only questions hierarchies within the capitalist system but also addresses social stereotypes and the invisible boundaries that shape how individuals and their work are perceived. Moreover, Bekteši’s transformation of everyday bakery tools into artistic objects implies a broader interpretation: in the dehumanizing capitalist economy, labor in its essence is reduced to the creation of surplus value, while its symbolic and emotional aspects are lost.
On the other hand, GGM 20, named after an industrial mixer from the artist’s father’s bakery, examines the boundaries of artistic intervention and the process of creating art. The mixer, moved from the bakery to the artist’s studio, becomes a drawing machine that creates abstract, circular patterns. Although the process is mechanical, the final outcome depends on the duration of operation and the position of the pencil, requiring the artist’s decision and intervention. In this way, Bekteši questions the role of the artist’s hand and the limits of authorship, evoking—in a sense—Duchamp’s mechanical diagrams, such as The Large Glass, the many meanings of which are to be found in the artist’s notes rather than in direct visual expression. Similarly, Bekteši employs the machine as a creative tool yet allows ample room for his own decisions and interventions. GGM 20 explores the tension between mechanical processes and human creativity, emphasizing the indispensable role of human decision-making even within mechanized processes. The self-referential nature of the work highlights the artist’s exploration of his own identity and family heritage, in a reaction to socially imposed stereotypes about the hierarchies of creative and manual labor, particularly in terms of national identity and cultural labels. GGM 20 also reflects Situationist ideas about the labor as a process that creates aesthetic and existential value only when removed from its economic context to become a means of liberation.
The two works in the Manuš Gallery establish a synergy that goes beyond personal narratives to spark a broader discussion about migration, labor, identity, and cultural values. Despite the complexity of these themes, the artist constructs a narrative presented with cool precision and formal simplicity. This sense of detachment is further underscored by the use of metallic surfaces, which “cool” the artist’s personal story, while the chains evoke the constraints and limitations of identity within larger social and historical contexts (chains being a self-citation of sorts because in his work Sofra Shqiptare, Bekteši also made chains out of djevrek – a traditional round pastry).
Ultimately, Bekteši forges a connection between his exploration of the father-son relationship and the universal issues of labor, identity, and hierarchies within contemporary social systems, subtly pointing to the multilayered historical and cultural prejudices he faces as both an artist and a descendant of migrants.
(text Dalibor Prančević)

Kemil Bekteši (b. 1997, Belgrade) is a Bosnian/Kosovar visual artist whose work engages deeply with themes of identity, geopolitics, and nationality. He holds a master’s degree (2021) and a bachelor’s degree (2020) from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, where he was honored with the Golden Badge for outstanding academic achievements. In 2018/19, Bekteši studied contemporary art at the Faculdade de Belas Artes do Porto (Portugal).His artistic practice spans a variety of media, including public interventions, objects, and installations, with a particular focus on site- and time-specific works. His art often reflects the cultural and political overlaps between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo — countries he has personally navigated throughout his life. Bekteši’s exploration of societal issues is often centered around the complex relations between nations, cultures, and histories, and how these are expressed in contemporary visual forms.His work examines both interpersonal and geopolitical dynamics, positioning him as a reflective voice in the ongoing discourse on regional identity.  In 2023, he participated in the WHW Academy in Zagreb, Croatia.
Bekteši has been recognized with several accolades, including the 2024 ZVONO Art Award for Young Visual Artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was a finalist for the 2022 MANGELOS Award (YVAA) in Belgrade. Alongside his artistic practice, he teaches Painting at an Art High School in Sarajevo, where he currently lives.