Posthuman Urban

Posthuman Urban explores “post-” and “beyond-human” interventions in the harsh and unadulterated urban environment. Through the eyes of four artists, the exhibition looks at the ways in which cities bear the marks of human presence or absence, where every wall, piece of metal and crumbling structure tells a story. These interventions in the environment are its new “nature” and essence, which become a natural and primary reality for us.
Posthuman Urban puts the hectic everyday life on pause and ‘zooms in’ on those details of the city that remain invisible to us because of their transformation into a natural landscape. The graffiti, the scattered paint, the crumbling structures, the torn posters, the photographs are a strange language for a kind of communication that does not impress the ‘urbanised’ eye. Being overwhelmed with information, it is insensitive to the dynamically changing imagery of the city. The four artists return the focus to these human and temporal interventions in the environment, focusing and transforming raw forms, creating alternatives to the manifestation of artistic sensibility.
The exhibition presents a series of photographs by Velichka Minkova that brings to the front unexpected compositions and visual solutions of layered posters, advertisements and graffiti that have an almost painterly feel, being moved from the street into the gallery space. They sit on the verge of found imagery, much like those worked with by Yoanna Laskova, who peers into much more intimate and personal moments in urban existence. The artist defines this as her mission to capture and register the world around her. Working with glass and photographs, she directs the gaze beyond the streets and towards the home and the individual.
Rozina Makaveeva’s objects materialize on the border between the ephemeral and the eternal. They paraphrase the steady passage of time in the fast-paced city through the vivid dynamism of the colour patch and the elegant simplicity of the transparency. Mirena Zlateva works in the field of metal to create forms that seem to reflect the gradual decay of the material constructions as well as of human existence. The works visualize feelings of destruction and creation at the same time, reminding us of the impermanence and transience of the structures we create, like many buildings under construction or abandoned in urban space.
Existing at the intersection of chaos and creativity, the works draw on the sensory overload of urban life and its impact on nature, as well as on the artist’s sensibility. Above all, Posthuman Urban makes us question what is left behind, the chronicles of our existence and the forms that reflect all these changes.

GERGANA MINKOVA, curator

MIRENA ZLATEVA works in the field of metal, and she is a prominent artist in the field of Bulgarian jewelry art. She has participated in numerous international exhibitions in Europe, USA, Japan etc., and has also won a number of prizes, such as the BAMS Grand Prize and a Diploma for Contribution to the Development of Bulgarian Culture.
ROZINA MAKAVEEVA‘s interests are in the field of scenography, digital and analog graphics, installation. The abstract, the obscure, the elusive and the intuitive are themes that have been the focus of her recent series and are developed through the facture of some concrete stories and perspectives. The artist has participated in a number of exhibitions in Bulgaria, China, UK, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, as well as residency programs in Paris and Barcelona.
VELICHKA MINKOVA is an author and researcher in the field of geometric abstraction. Her interests lie in the areas of combinatorics, composition, colour studies, and modular shaping, the experience of which is evident in her works. Minkova’s most recent explorations are in the medium of photography. In addition to her research, the artist has participated in numerous international projects in the field of geometric art and textiles in the USA, Romania, China, etc.
YOANNA LASKOVA a visual artist whose practice spans across a range of mediums, with a particular focus on glass, photography, and drawing. Laskova’s work is distinguished by her nuanced exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of memory, ancestral heritage, and the sense of home. In her most recent projects, she reflects on the deeply personal and collective narratives that shape identity, using her art as a means to evoke emotional resonance and prompt introspection.

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