2023-2025
work in progress
The image in the mirror of desire
This project explores the world of fashion as a constant image-generating field, aimed at the human longing for an ideal world that does not exist in reality. It accumulates the desire to own fashion products, but does not give the slightest idea that what precedes the glamorous narratives with which fashion goods are advertised, is the fruit of ideas, emotions and labour that are part of many people’s lives. Making sense of their involvement in any particular fashion item is important because it should also determine our actions in the constant ‘hunt’ for fashion trophies. With every choice of ‘fast’ fashion, we are opting for the overproduction of textile waste, which is one of the biggest polluters of the environment, and agreeing with the lack of socialpolicies in the countries that produce it, leading to unethical business practices – miserable pay, lack of normal working conditions, and the uncontrolled use of harmful chemicals.
Kiril Cholakov’s surreal sculptures, comprised of ready-made objects directly borrowed from the world of fashion, combined with found objects from nature, create the illusion of a collection of hunting trophies. They ask what our personal role in a global environment of hyper-consumerism is and are focused on one of the highest turnover industries – that of fashion. The image in the mirror of desire puts us all in the position of rethinking our behaviour in a modern age where the understanding that we are all responsible for the future of society and the natural world we leave behind is imperative.
The image in the mirror of desire
Kiril Cholakov’s surreal sculptures, comprised of ready-made objects directly borrowed from the world of fashion, combined with found objects from nature, create the illusion of a collection of hunting trophies that form a mysterious boudoir, as if taken from the mise-en-scene of David Lynch’s films.
At its centre is a crystal chandelier, coloured with artistic intervention, which is covered with silhouettes of female and male figures in different positions, made of coloured transparent plastic material. The programmatic lighting of the exhibition enhances the atmosphere of mystery and places the viewer in the centre of a surreal dream in which “the owls are not what they seem”. The shadows on the walls, the lights switching on and off at certain intervals create the illusion of a world as though it were from another dimension with its own laws and rules. The viewer is provoked to become part of it and to reconsider his routine perceptions in an attempt to unravel the place he has fallen into.
Curated by Irina Batkova
Technical Description:
Site-specific – an intervention, which is planned and fits into a specific place.
The shape of the room (preferably neo-Baroque style) is a regular octagon /or circle/ with a domed ceiling, it is possible for the interior to have period-specific wall paintings and interior details.
Elements :
– A crystal chandelier, strongly coloured with artistic intervention, which will be covered with silhouettes of female and male figures in different positions, made of coloured transparent gelatine. When the lights are on, the coloured shadows of these silhouettes invade the entire room. The light of t hechandelier is switched on for 5 minutes at 10-minute intervals. During the 10- minute intervals, the light is white and subdued, directed from below at the sculptures, and the atmosphere is semi-dark.
– Sculptural objects that are arranged on the walls and specially treated, with an effect of aging, mirrors created by the artist
– It is possible to add boudoir furniture typical of the period
