2016 - ongoing
St Kliment Ohdriski is an ongoing body of work, developed initially during an artist residency in Ashford School, Kent.
The work addresses the complex political histories of Bulgaria, notions of social displacement and disintegration caused by a series of significant political events of the 20thC.
The fall of communism did not simply result in a change of power, but the new capitalist regime attempted to implement a rigorous eradication of past indoctrinations to conceal the histories of past violations by the Communist Party. However, this in turn damaged national culture and collective memory.
My discoveries about my parents' school and the education system during the communist regime in Bulgaria have led me far beyond the individual experience. Using family archives and history as a starting point, I explore the complex issues that concern present day society in Bulgaria today. A sense of cultural inheritance has encouraged me to archive educational material I have found from that era and introduce an unfamiliar history to modern society.
In response to the decrepit state of the school 'St Kliment Ohridski' in Northern Bulgaria, which provokes a notion of an impoverished, post-communist country, this residency has allowed me to integrate clay work in my photographic practice.
