This work was conceived specifically for the space of the old decrepit and burned down Turkish bath in the city of Plovdiv. It was part of an exhibition, which was meant, among other things, to attract attention and funds for the renovation of the building. By the simple and every-day-life its substance installation, the artist tries to reclaim for the bathhouse the main component of its atmosphere – the warmth. By switching on the heaters, he also “switches on” the memory of the space and brings it back to its functional history. In this laconic gesture, which rejuvenates a fragment from a tradition, there is some irony implied for the contemporary artist-demiurge who while striving to create is actually recalling and repeating already made gestures.
Iara Boubnova
Installation view and detail in the Ancient Bath, Plovdiv, Bulgaria 1995
