The drawings were made in the period January/February 2024, on the coast of the Antarctic Ocean, in the area of the Bulgarian Research Base on Livingstone Island, Antarctica, by Marina Velikova.
“To understand Marina’s drawings, one must contemplate them for a long time, look into them for a long time to feel the cold, the wind, the water and this psychological barrier called the end of the world. These are artworks that may initially disturb the expectations of something more idyllic. However, delving into the essence of their creation, making sense of the feelings and states, which they are a reflection of, one understands the depth of the works, of the message they carry. Their power lies in the ease of the gesture, in the intervention of nature in the creative act, in the freedom of the creative spirit that wished to reach the end of the world. What is the end of the world really? This expanse of water, ice and rocks is not just a geographical location, it is above all a psychological barrier that constantly challenges the human imagination. Some small but essential part of Antarctica is literally, physically present in Marina’s works. The author uses water from the glaciers to create her watercolours. Water dissolving the paints, splashes from the ocean, raindrops, overlays, spills, washing off – all of this leaving imprints on the paper. In this sense, nature is not only an inspiration, it is almost a co-author, a co-creator, who directly intervened in the creation of the drawings. Created in extreme conditions, with unceasing wind, without prior preparation, these works are an unforced expression of the storm of feelings that overtakes the author who has reached the end of the world. The lack of imagery, of specifics most accurately recreates the mixture of what was experienced and what was seen. The colouration and colour combinations are strongly influenced by the colours of the ice and crumbling rock. In several artworks, individual concrete images appear. They literally float out of the shapeless mass of water and ice. The collaged chapel and man-made ladder are completely alien to the artistic language used, they are something external brought to this extraordinary world. The painted penguins are images – symbols of the few signs of life in the desert created by the ice. Marina’s creations are a personal narrative about a journey to the end of the world, about the trials of the spirit that a person experiences when reaching the threshold of this end, about the infinite power of nature, seen through the eyes of the creator.”
PhD Lyuben Domozetski
I created “Traces of Antarctica” on the border of the sea and the land, at the intersection of the known and the unknown world. Between fearful and thrilled. Sensing the beginning of time and earth, and on the threshold of infinity. I drew them on the edge of my will, in moments of insight, experiencing an atavistic connection with the vastness of water and the inception of life. These are the imprints of the place in my inner world. Traces of contact, like the black lines in the glacier reflecting time.
Marina Velikova
About the author:
Marina Velikova is a musician and a music editor in the “Horizon” program of the Bulgarian National Radio. She graduated from the “Pancho Vladigerov” Music Academy. In 2003/08 she studied Indian classical music at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, the oldest school of music in Delhi, India. Performer and author of music albums. Participated as a musician in theater performances. Author of two photo exhibitions, the second of which “The Ice of Antarctica”, was presented a month ago at the Sofia Lovers Bridge, as a part of the “Antarctica in New Dimensions” project.
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