„LIFE – THESE ARE TWO WOMEN”

The exhibition Life-These are Two Women is part of the museum programme of Vaska Emanouilova Gallery. It is dedicated to the image of the mother, one of the most repetative and conservative images in the tradition of Bulgarian visual arts.  Even though much of the works of the sculptress Vaska Emanouilova represent the female figure, the mother as a character and theme is almost completely absent in her work. The exhibition, seeking to explain this absence by placing it within the visual environment of Bulgarian fine arts, shows various art works in which the mother appears as a symbol of memory and home, suffering or consolation. Part of them are associated with the theme of motherhood. Most of the works were created in the 1970s /1980s and reveal a continuation and /or repetitions of motifs, themes and means of expressions used by artists in the beginning of the century.

Life-These are Two Women is an exhibition which shows how sustainable the image of the mother is, and the way it is perceived as a universal image connected with the human being and human nature. It is included in the parallel program of Sofia Queer Forum 2015 – Sweet Union, dedicated to the topic of the family and the possible relationships between people, between “me” and “you”.

In the framework of the exhibition a series of events are planned to take place, which will enhance the discussion of this topic within the Bulgarian visual arts domain, both in terms of the canon and of the exceptions, marginal stories, other’s viewpoints.

The first event during the exhibition is a lecture by Syrago Tsiara, Director of the Thessaloniki Centre for Contemporary Art: “Creating and undermining stereotypes. The image of the mother in Greek art and the subversive voices of new Greek cinema”. The lecture will take place on Dec.12th (Saturday) at 3 p.m., in Sofia City Art Gallery. The event will be held in English, with provided translation in Bulgarian.

 

 

Pieta

Vera Loukova
Mihail Stoyanov

Mothers

Vesa Vassileva