Maria Naydenova
LOOPs
Graphic art, fresco
February 19 - March 5, 2015

About the exhibition

"LOOPs", the name of the author's project, is derived from the English "loop" - a concept which is associated with the process of loopback. This term is used in different spheres: from mathematics and biochemistry to cinematograph and DJing. The main point of it consists in cyclical, loop-like form of presentation. In Maria Naydenova's vision loops can exist not only through time but also on the surface of the sheet.

In the project "LOOPs" Maria completes her investigation of illusive images which live in the unconscious world. "The Double", the novel of the Portuguese author Jose Saramago, has given the impulse to the project. The theme of the person living another's life is actual today: the life of the modern man is rather virtual. Watching a movie, the protagonist is surprised to find that the character on the screen is his exact copy; but he, unlike protagonist, lives an interesting and eventful life.

The concept of "loop" reflects M.šNaydenova's attitude to the real world: the author sees the danger in a series of recurring events and inability to feel your life, to understand and suddenly realize that it does not belong to you - what should I do with it? In her graphic Maria gives the author's interpretation of the interaction between the Real and thešIllusory; while choosing the themes she makes a start from the phantasmagoric images which exist in a surreal world and can show people the alternative reality. Even the absurdity of dreams usually becomes a source of inspiration.

The pen technique used by the author surprisingly incarnates the idea of the project. The lines sliding along the surface of the sheet are like fantasies, hallucinations, dreams; they are very subtle and, it seems, can disappear at any moment. The drawing on the wall which interprets the storylines of J. Saramago's novel "The Double" is the semantic and compositional center of the exhibition. As conceived by Maria, it emphasizes once again the constructive idea of looping images which are presented in a series of graphic works of the project "LOOPs" by the artist. The exhibition also includes the illustrations to the texts of F. Kafka, G. G. Márquez, J. L. Borges, J. Cortázar, and R. Bradbury.

Anna Legotina

Translated by Natalia Kuznetsova

A b o v e : The Illustration to the text of F. Kafka's "The Metamorphosis". 2014