FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS?

INA DOBREVA
11 MAY — 24 MAY 2019

This is Ina Dobreva’s first independent project, inspired by a
personal story. In 2012 one soap at one particular moment
transforms the aroma and the sense of closeness into an eternal
memory. This story imperceptibly translates the search for truth
into the interest of the meaningful dimensions to which soap
refers, blowing up the human consciousness.

Traveling in time and space naturally takes the author to the
authentic Bulgarian soap “Kambana”, which is a focus of the
exhibition “For whom the bell tolls?” and carries us in the past
and in the memories and reinforces the feeling that “Soap has its own soul”. Ina Dobreva follows the historic path of “Kambana” soap since its creation in the early 20th century and tells its story nowadays. The project seeks to rediscover a well-known object and its qualities and role in the context of our time.

The author examines the changes in today’s perception of
values. Memory, purification and the future with their
ambivalent nature are of great interest to her, giving a rise to
controversy and questions. Can we forget the past and do we
really want it at all? Are we looking for shelter in the past, or
rather we can not escape from its dark shadow? Where does the direction we choose to take could lead us?

The exhibition is part of the official programme of Plovdiv 2019 — European Capital of Culture.