Curators:
Georgy Bogdanov / Boris Missirkov
Installation views from the show
Misho Novakov is like an
extraterrestrial that has landed on the Earth and by sheer force of
circumstance has found itself in Bulgaria, among skaters, DJ’s, hipsters
and casual idlers. His observation apparatuses – most of them semi-
amateur cameras which break easily but are quickly replaced – register
everything they come upon, no matter beautiful or ugly, important or
unimportant, on or off focus. At first glance, the chaos is complete but
gradually the different frames build up a very curious – and beautiful –
documentary picture. A narration about a group who couldn’t care less
about local politics but is yet quite at terms with current trends
worldwide and would probably look almost the same in any European, Asian
or American metropolis. The global lifestyle, or, at least the idea of
it, together with the local background comprising crumbling residential
blocks from the 70's, half-finished beach hotels and Bentleys stir up a
weird mix. It is before our eyes every day, indeed, but has come to be
so casual we hardly notice it. The absurd scenes of the trashy
surroundings are not an aesthetic problem for Misho or for the
protagonists in his photos, these are just part of the environment but
they do not prevent those people from having fun. A cheerful endless
theatre which at times whiffs off an end of the world feel - but it
might be as well just a way to enjoy self and life.
The
photographs of Misho Novakov are based on a richly developed tradition
of the colourful, almost kitschy documentary observation of everyday
life nonsense, established by Martin Parr back in the 1980’s. What sets
the images in this exhibition apart from the multitude of photo-blogs
online is the sincere curiosity about the world around, the slight
degree of irony towards the environment and the self, and an eye for the
beauty of the absurd. The pleasure of shooting film is also part of the
game – the patience to wait for days or weeks before you are able to
see the images and the surprise of re-discovering them are a process
totally different from the snap self-affirmation of digital image. This
game continues in the exhibition hall – the mechanical click of the
Kodak slide projector acts as a metronome that should bring a bit of
order in the chaos.
Bogdanov/Missirkov
Photos from the opening on 06.03.2012
The exhibition is supported by the
AGITPROP and the Bulgarian Association of Photographers
