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"VITILIGO
PEOPLE" *
For
his first solo show in Italy, Nedko Solakov presents his "Vitiligo
People" project.
On
first impression, this project consists in seven large photographic
prints (120 x 150 cm.) depicting hands. The hands (belonging to the
artist himself) seem to have been taken from a book on dermatological
diseas.
Upon
closer viewing, we discover that the whitish areas of the artist's
skin harbor a large, although not readly visible, population of
figures, the so-called "Vitiligo People". They seem to be a
lively group, living lives full of conflict, silly situations and love
stories.
Many
little tales are played out on the valleys and hills of the artist's
hands, accompanied by tiny entertaining notes. What is the
relationship of these "Vitiligo People" to the spots in the
hands? Do they create them or do they prevent them from getting bigger?
Maybe they just ignore them showing that all this doesn't really
matter….
In
this project as in his work in general, Nedko Solakov deals
with the absurd in combination with people's expectations. We think
that we might be seeing a series of photographs similar to those of
Serrano, whereas what the project really is, is a unique combination
of illustration, photography and writing that represents the dos and
the don'ts of the "Vitiligo People" told by a contemporary
story-teller.
Since
the beginning of the '90's, Nedko Solakov (born 1957, Tcherven
Briag, Bulgaria. Lives in Sofia) has exhibited extensively in Europe
and the United States.
His
work was featured in Aperto'93 at the Venice Biennial; the 3rd
and 4th Istanbul Biennials; Sao Paulo '94; Manifesta 1, Rotterdam; '97
Kwangju Biennial; ISEA '98, Liverpool; Venice Biennale, 1999; the 5th
Lyon Biennial, 2000. This year, his work is being shown at the Venice
Biennial where he presented his performance "A Life (Black &
White)" that is still going on.
A
partial list of the group shows in which he participated were held at
the MCA, Chicago; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; ICA,
Philadelphia; P.S. 1, New York; Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana; Arken
Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen; Wiener Secession; Moderna Museet,
Stockholm; Kunsthalle, Zurich; Tramway, Glasgow.
Among
his forthcoming projects are solo shows at the Royal Academy of Free
Arts / IASPIS, Stockholm; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin; Chiado
Museum, Lisbon; Espacio Uno, Reina Sofia, Madrid and
his first solo retrospective exhibition organized by Rooseum, Malmoe.
* "Vitiligo" : a kind of skin disorder, of unknown cause,
characterized by pathoes of unpigmented skin.
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