Esma Bronkovič
Born in Linz, Austria in 2001.
Biography
Linz, Austria
I am the third child born to Muslim parents in Linz
Crvarevac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Until age 4, I obey the motka of my Bosnian grandmother
Eisenwerkstraße, Waldegg, Linz, Austria
At age 5, the neighbours film my father’s rituals of punishment
Krankenhausstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 6, I spend 9 months isolated in hospital with tuberculosis and am only able to see my parents from a distance
Tungassingerstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 8, I feel stupid in this world and guilty about knowingly ignoring the prerogative of the Muslim religion
Eisenwerkstraße, Waldegg, Linz, Austria
At age 10, I enjoy being friends with the twin brothers living next door
Eisenwerkstraße, Waldegg, Linz, Austria
At age 10, my sister steps in front of me and gets the beating our father intended for me
Eisenwerkstraße, Waldegg, Linz, Austria
At age 11, the only thing that consoles me is my mother's love, and it saddens me to disappoint her
Wankmüllerhofstraße, Waldegg, Linz, Austria
From age 12, despite being punished for it, I stay away for nights on end and the mother of my Turkish friend hides me and does not give my whereabouts away
Linz, Austria
At age 13, I flee from everything and everyone, live off goods stolen from rich people's staircases and dull the stress and fear with alcohol. To find me, my father organises an hundred-strong group of police
Tungassingerstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 14, I manage to finish school with good grades, despite drinking alcohol and taking ecstasy
Wiener Straße, Linz, Austria
At age 15, I systematically break into street food stands, rob vending machines at the local learning centre, sleep in basements, and consume weed, beer, Jägermeister liqueur, and ecstasy [MDMA]
Fadingerstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 15, the judge believes in my talents and gives me a mild prison sentence
Wiener Straße, Linz, Austria
At age 16, I fall on my head after being given knockout drops, and have no memory that I jumped out of the ambulance in panic, was immobilised for days in a psychiatric ward, and was given a conditional sentence for insulting a police officer and negligently causing grievous bodily harm
Wiener Straße, Linz, Austria
At age 17, I take a course in welding at the local learning centre
Auwiesenstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 17, I use cocaine on a daily basis, my father beats me up one last time before he disowns me, kicks me out of the house, and drives me away
Dinghoferstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 17 I have my first girlfriend, who also ran away from home, and we move into social housing together
Hauptstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 17, I am greedy and go on a robbing spree with the twins as though obsessed; we mug dealers and get away with money and drugs
Pochestraße, Linz, Austria
At age 18, we are arrested and remanded in custody; one of the twin brothers betrays me and I stay in prison
Pochestraße, Linz, Austria
At age 18, I write my first rap lyrics
Geroldswil, Switzerland
At age 19, my brother moves to Switzerland, prays with our parents who followed him there, and my sister lives close to them as well
Gabesstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 19, I smear my daily dose of cocaine on my gums and am very careful to keep my teeth healthy
Barcelona, Spain
At age 19, for a month I try to abstain from drugs while staying in a motel in Barcelona
Velika Kladuša, Bosnia and Herzegovina
At age 19, we move to Bosnia and Herzegovina for five months, we steal a huge amount of Captain Morgan Rum and weed, and I experience a success on YouTube while apathetic
Bahnhofstraße, Ried im Innkreis, Austria
At age 20, I am sentenced to eight months in Linz for burglary and theft, and to two years and nine months in Ried for robbery and cracking a safe
Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
At age 21, I check into Oikos, an addiction treatment centre, for therapy and medication, and relapse a month later
Franckstraße, Linz, Austria
At age 21, I am in a deep depression and a friend of mine overdoses on my drugs and dies next to me. I am reported to the police for recklessly causing bodily harm, I pray, and smoke huge amounts of heroin
Geroldswil, Switzerland
At age 21, my mother sends me a ticket so I can visit her in Switzerland, I go cold turkey and abruptly quit taking addictive drugs
Zurich, Switzerland
At age 21, I am arrested in Zurich and deported to Linz. A police officer beats me up, locks me naked into a solitary confinement cell, and destroys the video evidence
Wechselbundesstraße, Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria
Since age 22, I am on drug substitution, live in prison, and await pending cases concerning my aggression toward other inmates
Wechselbundesstraße, Schwarzau am Steinfeld, Austria
At age 22, together with my girlfriend, I prepare our escape from prison
Related spaces
The conceptual architecture of TBDWBAJ is based on the investigation of various social spaces, isolated space, cultural space, public space and virtual space. Each of these rooms describes a phase of the project and takes on a different perspective.