Dimitar Nikolov – Bulgaria – Sculpture
Sculpture begins with the traces that human presence leaves in nature. At its core lies memory and the continuous transition of matter from one state to another. The form is fragmentary and resembles the remains of a larger structure—something partially preserved that simultaneously points to the past and opens up a space for imagination. The work is temporary and highly dependent on the context of the site in which it is placed.
Some of the materials used are local: scraps taken from old walls and crumbling buildings. These stones contain various layers—natural formations, traces of labor, habitation, and local memory. In Gorna Lipnitsa, houses, barns, fences, and other abandoned structures are slowly losing their shape and gradually returning to the environment from which they were once separated. The stone, which was once part of the architecture of everyday life, finds itself in a transitional state: it no longer fulfills its old function, but still bears its trace. This is where its transition to a new artistic form begins. The artwork itself does not remain untouched either—the environment alters it, and later a part of it is taken by a local resident. Thus, it speaks of transitory nature and is swept away by it.
As a large-scale outdoor work, the sculpture cannot be viewed in isolation from its surrounding space. The terrain, the grass, the trees, the light, and the air all contribute to how it is perceived. Placed beneath the vertical lines of tall pine trees, it creates a sense of order and focus, almost of holiness. Its placement outside the social center is a result of detachment, egocentricity, and loneliness.
The work highlights the knowledge accumulated over generations—in stonemasonry, construction, and agricultural practices. Tools such as the chisel and hammer are not merely relics of the past, but testimonies to the labor through which the village’s physical environment was built. They were used to build houses, fences, barns, and the community center—the very structure of local life.
The ruin is metamorphic—it brings together the natural and the cultural, lost function and preserved matter, vanished purpose and emerging new meaning.
Text: Paola Stoyanova Dimova (Curator)
