MARIANA VASSILEVA
b. 1964, BulgariaMariana Vassileva’s works emanate from her experiences and emotions in her new living environment. Her videos seem timeless and they take us on at times meditative journeys through space and time, which always begin with the gender, biography and role of the self. With simple but nevertheless symbol-ladden pictures of great beauty, the artist succeeds in transporting such complex themes as fear, escape, orientation and the search for freedom. At the same time, Mariana Vassileva always manages to subliminally counteract the seemingly harmless casualness of her works.
Mariana Vassileva investigates strictly individual experiences, however, deal with the transient phenomena of time, space and movement, the exhibition succeeds in involving the observer in an exciting discourse with the perception of her own living environment.
In her work ‘Milkmaid’, she was inspired by a painting by Jan Vermeer, the “The Milkmaid” from 1658-60. The motif becomes transformed, not only into our present but also into a virtual spaceless and timeless sphere. The clothing and appearance of the young woman are as pristine as the light that plays upon her - as it would an everlasting sculpture. However she is, through her posture, totally in the present. As she remains motionless and only the milk flows - as if frozen in time - one could say that in this work, photography, video and sculpture unite in one medium.
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