Reflected Observation
article: Maria Wasilewska
For the master’s degree graduation exhibition of photography students at the National Academy of Arts, Yoana Angelova presents a series of photographs under the evocative title Reflections. This series once again demonstrates the younger generation’s interest in formal experimentation as a medium that revitalizes the modernist idea of “newness.” The photographer creates images abstracted from the real world, not only rejecting representation of visible reality but also avoiding any social or existential issues. Instead, she offers works that focus on the image itself and engage in a dialogue with artistic categories. The ornamental nature of the composition is enhanced by the use of intense colors, resulting in a decorative, abstract mosaic.
The works can be viewed on two levels: a water-based structure and a layer of color. Water becomes a prism through which we observe the soft patches of color lying beneath its surface. There is a sense that the two layers are in opposition—the colors flow, their boundaries blur. Paradoxically, it is precisely the imposed framework, in the form of water droplet structures, that gives them definition and introduces order. The liquid is subjected to the rules of symmetry, contradicting its natural state. The droplet becomes a contour for colors that defy definition.
The artist perceives reflection as an independent reality. Angelova visualizes unconventional perspectives that are usually beyond our field of vision. She draws from nature, but by isolating fragments of it and magnifying them, she gives her photographic images an abstract quality. Our recognition of these structures is based on a play between what we know about things and what we see. It is knowledge that becomes the essential tool allowing us to anchor this photographic series (as well as any other abstract images) in the real world.
Reflections is grounded in reality in a highly physical and material way. The artist uses laboratory instruments and substances such as water, paraffin, oils, and even toothpaste. Laboratory glass, coated with these emulsions, acts as a filter through which she observes the world of color. This photographic series reveals the artist’s fascination with photography as a chemical process, which finds fulfillment in the meticulous preparation of the photographed objects. Her work focuses both on the image itself and on the creative process. The direct engagement with water as a fundamental, life-sustaining substance is significant for her. Macro photography enables her to capture water’s structures, yet in the process of image construction, the life-giving function of water, as well as its natural origin, is lost. Everything is subjected to the rules of symmetry.
Through reflection and multiplication, Angelova makes her captured natural scenes resemble kaleidoscopic images. However, her kaleidoscope does not aim at a critical interpretation of visual reality but rather serves as a reference to aesthetics itself. The photographer navigates within the visual world, creating images that respond to themselves. Just as in a kaleidoscope, the sense of reality is lost here; through multiplication, the original (a naturally observed phenomenon) disappears in favor of its aestheticization. The artist is captivated by the very act of functioning within a micro-world and by the ability to create surreal visions. All of her photographs are based on reproduction—multiplication that maximizes the experience. The symmetry and axial structure of each composition attempt to impose order on the natural world, subjecting fluid substances to mathematical rules. The impression of detachment from reality is further intensified by the vivid colors, fantastically juxtaposed.
The rejection of direct representation is present not only in this photographic series by Angelova. Earlier, in her work as a ceramicist, she created a series of ceramic tiles. Her 2013 work Natural Geometry is also based on natural landscapes, captured from a bird’s-eye perspective and transferred into ceramics as abstract, multi-colored structures.
Reflections follows a similar conceptual approach but moves in the opposite direction—from the macro scale to the micro scale—making the connection between the two works even more direct. The artist used ceramic tiles from the Natural Geometry series to create Reflections by placing transparent laboratory glass with water structures directly over the earlier works. The colors in the photographic series originate from her previous ceramic compositions, which themselves were inspired by nature. Thus, the connection to nature is present at every level of Angelova’s work.
I perceive Yoana Angelova as an intriguing emerging artist exploring her individual artistic voice. She approaches photography through the lens of a painter, employing familiar artistic techniques while simultaneously seeking new expressive possibilities. The young artist moves from medium to medium, layering past achievements onto her current work like a kaleidoscope. The title Reflections can also be interpreted as self-reflections, though achieving this would likely require a greater temporal distance. In her work, she continually reinterprets her relationship with nature, subjecting it to her own artistic rules and aestheticization.
