14 October - 7 November 2021 - Gergana Petrova solo exhibition
"Look at the pattern this seashell makes. The dappled whorl, curving inward to infinity. That’s the shape of the universe itself. There’s a constant pressure, pushing toward pattern. A tendency in matter to evolve into ever more complex forms. It’s a kind of pattern gravity, a holy greening power we call viriditas, and it is the driving force in the cosmos. Life, you see."
—Kim Stanley Robinson
Viriditas is an ongoing series about the beauty of nature, its fragility, and the importance of its preservation.
More than ever we exploit our resources, entranced by technological and economic progress. The wealthy are building rockets that take them vacation in Space and, eventually, will take them to Mars and beyond. A global pandemic has shown us what life under quarantine is, spent in front of digital devices—for both work and leisure, and how devastating for our mental health this is. Every year it’s the hottest year we’ve experienced, with the most wildfires, hurricanes, and flood disasters, alarming us of the impact of climate change. This list goes on.
"The goal of life is to live in harmony with nature, Zeno wrote more than 2000 years ago. And it seems that we move further away from this goal with every sequential generation.
Nevertheless, I believe that viriditas will find its way and prevail—the power that makes everything grow in places and conditions that seem impossible—from plastic-eating bacteria to extremophiles surviving UV radiation in oxygen-starved environments. Life, as we know it today, will surely change, and it is our duty to find our way to preserve it and help it thrive, finding harmony and our place within it.
Viriditas is a series I started after I moved back to Bulgaria around 2017. It is a sequel to my series on anthropogenic climate change and pollution called “Event Horizon”, as part of Red Gate Residency, Beijing, 2016. It was featured in a group exhibition during World Of Co residency, 2019; showcased as a book and mini-series, part of Viriditas, called “Alternate Species” in Struktura gallery, during Sofia Art Week 2019"
Text: Gergana Petrova
About the artist:
Gergana Petrova is a photographer and visual artist based between Sofia and Berlin. She graduated in BA Set Design, National Art Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria and in MA Media Design, Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany. Her exhibition Crystal Trips was presented in 2013 at Sofia Design Week and then at Studio Chérie, Berlin. Her next solo show Berlin: 05am was in 2016 in the pop-up gallery Falkenstein. In 2017 she was picked up for the Art Start group show at Goethe Institut Bulgaria, Sofia. Her work has been featured in VSCO, Vice, SVEMA Magazine, Freunde von Freunden, Postpravda Magazine and many more. In 2015 she worked as a Photo Editor at Freunde von Freunden, Berlin and in 2016 as a Photo Assistant to Nan Goldin, Berlin
