Tina Zlatina’s exhibition at the Vaska Emanоuilova Gallery is inspired by the work of the renowned sculptor for whom the gallery is named and pays tribute to her artistic legacy, in which women occupy a central place. Woman is also a main theme in the exhibition of the contemporary sculptor, as she examines the dual manifestation of women and their role in today’s world. On the one hand, they have achieved an equal place in society and in their professional careers, but on the other, there are still limitations to their full manifestation. These limitations stem mainly from the dominant patriarchal order in Bulgarian society and rigid ideas about the place of women within it.

The exhibition includes works of ceramics, metal, textiles, and leather, most of which were created especially for it, as well as several previous works that have not been shown in Bulgaria. The central place is occupied by four object installations that are reminiscent of clothing, jewellery, or fashion accessories, but the idea is to show how they place a woman in a restrictive position. They refer to the fashion and cosmetic industries that dictate the high standards of how a woman should look today. The installations include video documentation of the artist’s performances showing the limited actions that the objects impose. Through this restriction of movement, the artist suggests the psychological limitations that the younger generation is developing.

M(W)ake Up presents hyperbolized yet fragile ceramic eyelashes that limit the gaze and remind us of the heavy makeup a woman wears to meet expectations. Feel Like Vulpes is a dress/object made of myriad exquisite ceramic elements, a metaphor for the thousands of problems that women face every day. Your-Self is a ceramic object similar to a hand and head ornament, an allusion to a crown, with a reference to the fact that the limitation is within ourselves and in the self. 3777 is a series of ceramic objects, imaginary archaeological artifacts, that according to the artist represent devices through which a fictional ancient civilization communicated telepathically. The exhibition also includes the series Belly Button and Specimens, the installation The Impossible Direction, and photographs that further develop the idea of ​​restriction.

This is Tina Zlatina’s first solo exhibition in Sofia after her many years of creative practice and appearances in European countries. The artist graduated from the National Academy of Art in Sofia (1996–2001) with a major in sculpture. Zlatina works mainly in the field of installation, performance, and site-specific art, with her main means of expression being ceramics, porcelain, and natural materials. She has had numerous group and solo exhibitions in the Netherlands, France, Poland, among others.

Curator: Galina Dimitrova-Dimova