ISLANDS

Penka Mincheva and Matthias Roth

14-31.01.2019

The concept of island is creating variable images of that piece of land, from lonely unnamed Islands to luxury touristic islands, artificial shiny industries, beautiful archipelagos, prisons and patches of Natural delight and liberty. In any case we are consumers of affluence and Natural goods. Nowadays the ability of traveling, discovering and experiencing a place makes us present on any piece of land. An island can be where we find peace, pleasure, inspiration, and self-concentration. The presence of human beings unquestionably brings its results of development and decadence. Often what we leave behind is a remains of industrial products in Nature, a trace of development in stagnation. Our needs overbear our conscience. The ambition of humans from prehistoric times till today is to get closer to God and to get in touch as close as possible to the Paradise as they understand it. Therefore humans started creating temples, gardens, palaces and any type of architecture, representing the ideal of Paradise of the present times. In this project Matthias Roth is treating the subject with the methods of replacement and rebuilding. He is developing imaginary dreamed islands with a feeling of the fresh Breeze suggested by the beautiful blue Ocean. In his photographical collages, Matthias is playing with reality and the artificiality. While Penka Mincheva is creating islands of the remains after human’s consumption and released industrial leftovers in the environment. Her glass islands are shiny and fragile, as delicate is the subject of Nature protection. The sculpture compositions are resembling Industrial flakes of petrol and the left behind garbage from people. The project is examining the global and the personal attitude towards Nature.

 

Penka Mincheva (b. 1979) represents that rare case when even with her first manifestation the author states her own style. Her stylistic range can most accurately be described by the means which she uses, such as pins and stamps, photo…
Graduated “Ceramics” at National Academy of Arts in Sofia in 2004, Penka Mincheva quickly shifts into modern media. She brings the taste of present, supported by a strong social sense and a desire to analyze people, events, situations and environment. Not accidentally the artist sometimes makes curatorial projects, to assist with different experience some of her ideas. In a sense she is an international type of an artist, although much of her realizations are directed to the regional. In fact as each responsible to their profession artists, she comes to conclusion by the matter that is best known for her. Here we must add the exceptions when the artist experiments with resources in areas where the unknown is seen.

 

Dimitar Grozdanov

 

Matthias Roth

Born for revolution on may 1st, 1970. Roth is living in Berlin, studied at the Kunsthochschule Kassel and the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi. He works on work, social madness and the culture of remembrance using photography, video, new media and found footage. The works created during Roth‘s restless travelling are directed against ethnocentrism and the hegemony of mass media. His work is characterized by the demystifying of the Spectacle.

Berndt Volkert