SIMONA BLAGOEVA
ABOUT THE PROJECT
"Healing" was the title of a collective exhibition curated by GROSSRAUM Vienna that gathered three artistic voices, each showcasing their unique approach to the concept of mental and physical healing. I was pleased to present a series of paintings alongside the stirring ceramic work of Anastasia Vasylchenko and the captivating installation "Weather Report" by Ruth Grösswang. For this project I showcased three small series designed to form a cohesive cycle.
The first series, "In Flesh And Gold We Trust," consists of five watercolor paintings depicting individual fragmented torsos. Each one is staged on a simple pedestal and supplemented with steel supports, evoking the silhouettes of broken ancient sculptures. At the same time, their translucent coloration suggests living and vulnerable flesh. Finally, the figures are adorned with golden laurel leaves. The distorted and injured bodies address physical and emotional trauma. The universal human pain is proudly and stoically exhibited, like a monumental marble sculpture. The golden laurel leaves serve a dual function: firstly, as an ironic "award" for the suffering. Secondly, as a contrasting allusion to GOLD as a societal symbol of stability and security—something that our fragile lives and bodies lack.
The second series, "Falling Apart and Coming Back Together," moves towards an abstract visual language. The whole figures are replaced by individual deformed body parts. They represent an attempt to visualize the post-traumatic moment of physical and mental collapse. At the same time, the delicate continuous thread symbolizes hope—a kind of "Ariadne's thread" that guides us through the cathartic experience.
The third and final series is called "Meditation Space (I Waited For Yves Tanguy But He Didn't Show Up*)". The gentle vast emptiness and subtle transitions of the nuances invite the viewer into a peaceful color space where trauma and suffering can be accepted and overcome through self-reflection and meditation: the gaze turns inward.
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*The second title is an homage to Yves Tanguy and refers to my biography. I have delved
into the study of the French surrealist extensively, and the visual language of my paintings is uninhibitedly inspired by his landscapes.
