Project Description
Not long ago I believed that less is more, especially when it comes to photography and a single photograph is way more powerfull than a series. My journey through this uncharted territory made me realise I was dead wrong.
Ordinary Guys
Ice hockey in Bulgaria is a sport with over sixty year long tradition. Back in the day, hockey was popular and many people practiced the sport, but nowdays, like many winter sports in Bulgaria, it suffers a decline due to the lack of facilities and state interest. Most hockey clubs are amateur and even the so-called professionals are not making a living out of it. The love for the game brings together boys and men of different nationallities and background, keeping hockey alive. I became involved with hockey in 2012 when I started shooting the Ice Devils amateur team and discovered the amazing effect the game had on people. When the skates are on, the men inside the protective gear become aggressive and fights often break out, but once they step out of the ice, you can see their real personalities. You could see the ordinary guys.
The Memory Remains
Founded more than sixty years ago, the Home for Veterans of Art and Culture is the last harbor for unfortunate cultural figures who once spreaded the beauty of Bulgarian art arount the world. Inhabitants of the home struggle not only with their poor financial status, but must also face the oblivion they are falling into. Their final performances of pride, envy, redemption and hope are held in the Home for Veterans of Art and Culture.
Kukeri
Each year, in early winter masked men gather round huge bonfires and dance making deafening noices. The people with huge scary hornbearing masks in combination with fur costumes braced with giant bells have one goal – to chase the evil spirits away, give way to spring, fertility and prosperity. The tradition can be traced thousands of years back to the Thracians’ celebrations of the Dyonisis and the performers are referred to as kukeri, mechkari, kukove, babugeri or pesyatsi. The celebrations in the Pernik municipality are famous for keeping the traditions alive, thus attracting crowds willing to witness the beauty of the dance and fall into trance.
No Way Back
In the beginning of summer thousands of people crossed the Greek-Macedonian border at the town of Gevgelija, headed to Western Europe in search of safety. The world was witnessing the start of the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. The path to the richer European countries was a “journey trough hell”, as some of the misfortunate described their way through the small former Yugoslav Republic. Hundreds of people were stranded at small town railway stations, due to poor management, slow processing of documents and lack of adequate laws. Many were forced to travel illegally the otherwise short distance to the northern border town of Tabanovce. Many refugees chose to travel by foot, by bike or riding a freigh train under the risk of being robbed and attacked by the local mafia, before the government passed a law allowing the migrants to use the public transport. These photographs follow their route from the southern border near Gevgelija all the way through Demir Kapija, Veles, Skopje and Kumanovo to the village of Tabanovce near Serbia.
St. Theodore’s day horse racing
In Bulgarian culture the horse has always been a highly valued animal. Its work has long been replaced by machines, nevertheless it is still apreciated and its qualities are celebrated each year on Saint Theodore’s day throughout the country. Under a Hollywood-esque sign on the hill in Novo Selo, the festivities are in full swing and being overlooked by figures of dinosaurs, cromanians and Roman soldiers. The small village near Plovdiv became famous for the ridiculously looking statues and structures showing a timeline of the evolution of weapons to Biblical scenes and Thracian gods. This scenery serves as a background of the horses pulling the tin chariots with screaming armored riders. This is a sight which can make you wonder where, and most importantly when you are, as if you entered a broken time machine.
Not long ago I believed that less is more, especially when it comes to photography and a single photograph is way more powerfull than a series. My journey through this uncharted territory made me realise I was dead wrong.
Ordinary Guys
Ice hockey in Bulgaria is a sport with over sixty year long tradition. Back in the day, hockey was popular and many people practiced the sport, but nowdays, like many winter sports in Bulgaria, it suffers a decline due to the lack of facilities and state interest. Most hockey clubs are amateur and even the so-called professionals are not making a living out of it. The love for the game brings together boys and men of different nationallities and background, keeping hockey alive. I became involved with hockey in 2012 when I started shooting the Ice Devils amateur team and discovered the amazing effect the game had on people. When the skates are on, the men inside the protective gear become aggressive and fights often break out, but once they step out of the ice, you can see their real personalities. You could see the ordinary guys.
The Memory Remains
Founded more than sixty years ago, the Home for Veterans of Art and Culture is the last harbor for unfortunate cultural figures who once spreaded the beauty of Bulgarian art arount the world. Inhabitants of the home struggle not only with their poor financial status, but must also face the oblivion they are falling into. Their final performances of pride, envy, redemption and hope are held in the Home for Veterans of Art and Culture.
Kukeri
Each year, in early winter masked men gather round huge bonfires and dance making deafening noices. The people with huge scary hornbearing masks in combination with fur costumes braced with giant bells have one goal – to chase the evil spirits away, give way to spring, fertility and prosperity. The tradition can be traced thousands of years back to the Thracians’ celebrations of the Dyonisis and the performers are referred to as kukeri, mechkari, kukove, babugeri or pesyatsi. The celebrations in the Pernik municipality are famous for keeping the traditions alive, thus attracting crowds willing to witness the beauty of the dance and fall into trance.
No Way Back
In the beginning of summer thousands of people crossed the Greek-Macedonian border at the town of Gevgelija, headed to Western Europe in search of safety. The world was witnessing the start of the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. The path to the richer European countries was a “journey trough hell”, as some of the misfortunate described their way through the small former Yugoslav Republic. Hundreds of people were stranded at small town railway stations, due to poor management, slow processing of documents and lack of adequate laws. Many were forced to travel illegally the otherwise short distance to the northern border town of Tabanovce. Many refugees chose to travel by foot, by bike or riding a freigh train under the risk of being robbed and attacked by the local mafia, before the government passed a law allowing the migrants to use the public transport. These photographs follow their route from the southern border near Gevgelija all the way through Demir Kapija, Veles, Skopje and Kumanovo to the village of Tabanovce near Serbia.
St. Theodore’s day horse racing
In Bulgarian culture the horse has always been a highly valued animal. Its work has long been replaced by machines, nevertheless it is still apreciated and its qualities are celebrated each year on Saint Theodore’s day throughout the country. Under a Hollywood-esque sign on the hill in Novo Selo, the festivities are in full swing and being overlooked by figures of dinosaurs, cromanians and Roman soldiers. The small village near Plovdiv became famous for the ridiculously looking statues and structures showing a timeline of the evolution of weapons to Biblical scenes and Thracian gods. This scenery serves as a background of the horses pulling the tin chariots with screaming armored riders. This is a sight which can make you wonder where, and most importantly when you are, as if you entered a broken time machine.