Figures
curated by Daniela Radeva
Credo Bonum Gallery
2019
Figures is a ten-year project that began in 2017. In 2019, the first two parts of the project were exhibited in two exhibitions, in Sofia and in Varna. These are images from the first part.
Titles of painting usually stand next to them, on a small white plaque with grey or black text. However, can the title of the painting instead be something completely different? Can it even serve as a door - a way to enter into the work, or at least enter a different state, where viewing and listening become blended?
Each large painting on textile is accompanied by an audio file, to be listened to on headphones while sitting on a bench in front of the work. In these recordings, which last between ten and fifteen minutes, I walk around and tell a small story, while the sounds of the city - and my own steps - are recorded as a background. This way, the looking begins to shift as well - from text to sound, from gesture to meaning, from abstraction to story.
An exhibition of four works thus becomes an experience of about an hour.
The artist articulates bodily sensations - thoughts that circulate within each of us but are rarely acknowledged, or that we are unable to voice. The body is thus the hidden theme of the exhibition. […] The contact between Sevda Semer’s works and the viewer is almost tactile in nature - like an embrace. The large scale of the paintings and the duration of the accompanying audio texts do not allow for a quick encounter. Despite the use of abstract images, the artist is deeply engaged in her ability to share. When someone reads to you, the experience is different from reading on your own - your level of attention is higher. Attention is first expressed as a physical presence over time, and only then as an exchange of information.
curatorial text by Daniela Radeva
