gallery view, Gin House, Sofia​, 2021

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"The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth—it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true." (Jean Baudrillard, 1981) 

"There have been examples of simulacra dating from the classical culture of the ancient world - centaurs, satyrs and other such anthropomorphic or zoomorphic mythological creatures."  (Boyko Iliev, 2015) 

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Most paintings and drawings within this showcase have been made since the start of this year [2021], making them the most accurate representation of my current psyche. It is through painting that I am able to unravel the existential speculations which permeate my thoughts day by day - these thoughts move around, they take shape and colour, they morph through mutual interaction.

These works explore the sense of calm within the chaos, with an underlying attention to the unravelling of space-time within the collective and personal subconscious. Meanwhile visual inspiration is found in mundanity - park trees during an afternoon stroll, a scene from an old film, a gallery interior, an ancient statue, a passage from a book, a painting by a late artist.

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"Simulacrum" is the process of psychovisual metamorphosis: from that which is seen, to the mind; from the mind, to the image; from the image, the eyes and minds of others. "Reality" becomes distorted by the prism of one's senses, perception and the mind itself. What remains in the end and comes out on the canvas relays a version of "reality" which no longer exists and, in fact, never did.

"[...] it is the truth which conceals that there is none." 

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