World-renowned Bulgarian artist Pravdoliub Ivanov returns to DOT Sofia with two permanent works that respond to the site-specific architecture of the building. The Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman, located in the garden of the KOMAT restaurant, and the sculpture on the roof of DOT Sofia, the illuminated sign FORM-FROM-FORM, transform the environment and treat the history of an ever-changing urban area with respect and curiosity. The Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman, the kinetic sculpture FORM-FROM-FORM and the painting "Studying the Secret Language of the Pandemic" are works by Pravdoliub Ivanov that are publicly accessible in one of the largest private collections of contemporary Bulgarian art - the DOT Sofia Art Collection.
We talk to Pravdoliub Ivanov against a backdrop of colourful leggings, the string of which the artist has named 'The Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman'. After its site-specific installation in September, the monument is now a permanent part of the DOT Sofia Art Collection and open to the public. How did it get here?
P.I.: The work was first shown in Luxembourg in 2005 with a slightly different support structure. The shapes are different each time, and collecting 150-200 pieces is a complicated job, as easy as it looks. I collect them by colour and shape, and in this case I went to a lot of shops - including ordering from e-shops in Varna and Sliven. When they arrive, the colours often turn out to be different, and I hear as a response: "Well, what do you care about the colour?! That's actually the main idea :)) Great epic! I have been collecting them for about half a year and the colours are indeed different each time.
One of the things that impresses people is the 10 metre height. The other is this imposing size combined with something very mundane and very fragile, perishable. That was the idea. There are two very nice reactions from people outside the art world. One was from a young man on the installation team who, although he knew the work, exclaimed when he saw it: "Oh, those are really leggings! The other reaction was from a woman in the KOMAT kitchen who asked me what the idea was. I asked her what it reminded her of, as it was best for her to decide what it was for her. She replied that it reminded her of the time when they didn't have a washing machine. At this point the name of the tibra, "Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman", caused real enthusiasm :)) Spontaneous reactions are very valuable to me, because they are very much in line with what I wanted to do.
From Luxembourg to the KOMAT garden. Is there a replacement of the idea, apart from the replacement of the vessels?
P.I. In Luxembourg, the work was largely site-specific, related to the peculiarities of the place. I was invited before the exhibition to see the site and suggest ideas. As we walked around the park in Luxembourg, which is very beautiful, I thought there was no need for art. Along the walkways there were stands with photographs from the early 19th century showing what the city looked like from that particular spot - it looked the same! The only difference was the washerwomen by the river - those women were gone, or at least not washing by the river. Somehow that wasn't enough for the job and I tried to find out more about the city. Luxembourg had a peculiar dynastic background, there was no bloodshed, but it was also often conquered. And since there have been battles all over Europe, and there are so many monuments to unknown wars, I decided to make a "Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman". And it's not just a sculpture you put somewhere - it has to have water, a river, and be connected to the environment.
And how does the monument relate to DOT Sofia and the area around the women's market?
P.I.: For me it is important to have a reference to the place. If you walk around the market, you will see "little fragments" of my work.
Also, some of the legends were bought there. The other interesting thing I know about the history of this area is that the women's market actually cuts diagonally across a block of parallel streets. There used to be a river here in ancient times - it may or may not be channeled now. Even the fortress of ancient Serdica was a rectangle with a truncated corner, precisely because of this river. It is an interesting fact that there are seven rivers in Sofia, many of them under the streets. So there is even a river in the whole area of the market - a mandatory element for the presence of the "Monument to the Unknown Washerwoman" :))
Pravdolyub Ivanov at DOT Sofia on the background of the Monument of the Unknown Washerwoman.
How would you present the sculpture to a child?
P.I.: Children look much more than adults - they are sensitive to what they see, adults often look without looking. These days I insist more and more that my work is open to interpretation. I used to insist that people understand it exactly as I want them to. But art is more like a forest than a garden with shaped bushes.
I have some memories of the piles of leggings that impressed me as a child, but this tower is really connected to the washerwomen of Luxembourg, and now to the women's market. Making art is a meandering activity. There's a connection in the brain between what you are and what you've seen - memories, thoughts, observations... Maybe that's how you get closer to poetry, to these strange connections that are not always clear, that sometimes only emerge afterwards...
Walking through the centre of Old Sofia, next to the top of Perachka, you can see a red illuminated sign sticking out of the roof of DOT Sofia. How did the idea for its creation come about?
P.I.: In 2012, I received a letter from Riga inviting me to participate in a quadrennial of sculpture. And since sculpture works with form, the idea of an illuminated sign like a petrol station or a supermarket chain was born - FORM-FROM-FORM. I wanted to work with form, to play with form. The sign itself with the lettering is manipulated so that when it rotates there is a perspective uncertainty and even the direction in which it rotates.
I'm very happy that both works are at DOT Sofia and that both are visible from a distance. If you walk from Halite along the tram line, you'll see how clearly the top of the feather can be distinguished, as well as the so-called sign - interestingly, it looks bigger from a distance than it does on the roof of the building!
Is this a desired effect?
P.I. I couldn't have predicted it, but I did some preliminary digital designs and they looked identical to the photo I took after the sign was installed. I sent them to DOT Sofia - I/O Architects to see if they could guess which one was the real one :))
This work, while not site-specific, works with form as art generally does. The DOT Sofia Aparthotel building itself is so unusual, inside and out, that there is a certain reference to architecture, which in turn deals mainly with forms and spaces. I am happy that the investor Pancho Georgiev and arch. Georgi Katov and arch. Vyara Zhelyazkova have done everything possible for these two works to be here. The whole process is a collaboration and a desire of people who turn out to be like-minded. I found myself in the right place at the right time with the right people. I believe I'm lucky!
When was your first encounter with DOT?
P.I. The work "Studying the Secret Language of the Pandemic", which is in the DOT Sofia Art Collection, was created during the pandemic. It was also the time when I met Pancho Georgiev through my gallery owner - Veselina Sarieva. She pulled me out of the state I had fallen into in the midst of the whole situation... Then there were collectors looking for works from the pandemic period.
There is something handmade in my work..., no centre..., chaotic and nervous, a state I wanted to convey. A lot of the work is related to the leaflets that appeared in the form of instructions on how to wash your hands. I started to collect these "instructions". They were made by artists and illustrators themselves. And when you look at them - if you abstract from the fact that they are instructions - you find in many of them a kind of tenderness, more like touch. Others look like torture positions or instructions for close combat. I thought it would be interesting to take them out as separate fragments. The third idea in my work "Studying the Secret Language of Pandemic" is of course sign language and signs.
Does art change in relation to space, or does the environment adapt to a work?
P.I.: This is a complicated question. On the one hand, art draws on the peculiarities of the environment. It's not really an adaptation, but rather a reflexive mechanism. Adaptation means becoming invisible, and art is more a dialogue with the environment. On the other hand, the environment includes people who are moved, inspired, challenged to react - all part of the emotional register of communication. And that's the most valuable thing about art. There is a movement of thought, action, energy. I was able to see how people responded to both the building and the works.
If you had to describe DOT Sofia in one word, how would you do it?
P.I.: I think it is an extraordinary place for Bulgaria. I wish more people had the opportunity to see the interior. DOT Sofia embodies the essence of modernity.
DOT Sofia is an urban hotel with an impressive Corten steel façade in the spirit of the neighbourhood where it is located - the Women's Market and the historic centre of Sofia, which today is a multi-genre, ever-changing area. The hotel asserts its place here boldly, but also with respect for the cultural heritage and the community. DOT Sofia's original, site-specific building has won some of Bulgaria's most prestigious architectural awards and quickly attracted the interest of global publications and high-end accommodation platforms. The hotel offers 10 designer suites, each of minimalist elegance, and an impressive Penthouse with the largest private rooftop terrace in the city. The serene luxury of the clean-lined space is combined with works by iconic representatives of contemporary Bulgarian art. Art’s integration in an architectural space has long been a dream of DOT Sofia's founders, avid collectors themselves. Their private DOT Sofia Art Collection includes landmark works by established artists such as Nedko Solakov, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Stefan Nikolaev, Lachezar Boyadzhiev, as well as emerging artists such as Rudy Ninov, Kamen Stoyanov, Maria Nalbantova and many others. The works are displayed in the hotel's boutique apartments and public spaces. The building and interior of DOT Sofia is a natural habitat for contemporary Bulgarian art, inviting an extraordinary encounter with world-renowned Bulgarian artists.