2020

Wool, wadding, clay, sisal, extruded polystyrene foam

LUCID DREAMING is a story about an untold story. At least, not officially told. But in fact, it has been shared many times. Told repeatedly by our parents, and we, the listeners born in the 80s and 90s, may not remember it clearly, yet we were still present in that reality of Bulgaria. Every time I hear this story, on the street, spoken by a stranger, I actually see familiar faces. The stranger becomes closer to me, not because I remember that "then," but because my loved ones have lived it. They lived in the same place, in the same way—with a sense of lack. And there is this immense confusion about how it happened. Were actions missing?

Lucid Dreaming is an art installation about human greed, money, power, social commitment. It all started as a socially engaged art project made for  working with children. The art work examines a person while dreaming. A lucid dream is a dream during which the dreamers are aware of dreaming. This awareness allows them to control narrative and environment. However, a dreamer is just an observer in non-existed world - he is only a bystander in reality. The main elements of the art installation are cotton candies, mesh bags and human figures.

Meaning behind the cotton candies:

The sugar craving is side of human nature and I use the cotton candy as a metaphor for greediness. Cotton candy consists mainly only sugar and 'dissolves' in the mass of accumulated water, losing its texture in the process. That big mass of fluff and air disappears in few seconds.

Meaning behind the net bags:

I rarely remember these bags from the time I was a kid. People could never put something little in it because is going to fall down through the net but at the same time in the stores there were nothing you can buy (socialism in Bulgaria till 1989). The net allows everyone to see what is in the bag. At the center of the space are situated human figures that are caring the huge net bags and are fully bent over the load.

The questions the work aims to ask are what am I doing to improve reality. Am I socially engaged? Do I help others? Every little action has value. Take action!

The project is supported by the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria, “Debuts” program.

The exhibition was presented for the first time in October 2021.

In April 2022, the exhibition was opened in the UniArt gallery, New Bulgarian University, Sofia.

In June 2022, the project was the subject of a discussion with childres from 145 primary school "Simeon Radev" in Sofia.