Curator Vesela Nozharova in conversation with Diana Boneva about the Exhibition “Positive” at Credo Bonum Gallery
Vesela Nozharova: How did your interest in the world of the visually impaired come about?
Diana Boneva: My interest began in childhood. I once watched a program about children who could read Braille by feeling it with their fingers. Years later, I saw a striking photograph taken by a friend and skilled portraitist. The portrait was of Galina Krasteva, who later became one of the participants in the exhibition and the starting point for everything else. I was deeply impressed by her presence and decided it was time to explore this subject. Galia was born with a visual impairment, but she has an incredible spirit and thirst for life—just like the other participants in the project.
Now that I think about it, the world of the visually impaired has always intrigued me because I am certain it differs greatly from ours in terms of perception, imagination, and even ideas. If you enter a pitch-black cave, you experience total darkness—for some people, this darkness is a constant element of their lives. We should never forget that. Now, imagine images emerging from this darkness without ever having seen them before. It’s like creating something out of nothing. But this “nothing” is actually vast potential waiting to be realized. That’s why the concept of the exhibition was linked to quantum theory, where I found many fascinating parallels.
Vesela Nozharova: As a visual artist working with images, how did you approach portraying a world devoid of images?
Diana Boneva: Perhaps it stems from my lifelong interest in exploring the invisible aspects of existence—the things people carry within but often hide behind social masks and behaviors. I’ve always been drawn to the imaginary and mental dimensions that drive everything else—to the spirit! That’s why I find the world of the visually impaired so compelling. They do not rely on images or material perception as we do. We primarily perceive the world through sight, followed by our other senses. For them, perception relies on hearing, touch, smell, taste, and balance.
Balance—a beautiful word. This brings me to the short film I made with Bogomil Karkov, who has never seen. In the film, he shares his world. He describes how, as a child, he imagined a coffee machine—with a tiny person inside quickly making and serving coffee. He talks about his first flight and how his childhood perception of an airplane, based on touching a small plastic toy, contrasted with the vast interior of a real plane. He also shares his dreams—how, in them, everything feels real, how he senses people’s presence, their physical touch, and even sees places he has never been. He moves without a cane and even drives a car. This raises an intriguing question: Which world is more real—our “visual” world, unseen by the visually impaired, or their world, which is uniquely visible to them yet invisible to us? Should we even limit ourselves to the concept of “reality” as we are used to perceiving it?
Vesela Nozharova: The exhibition consists of three portraits, correct?
Diana Boneva: Yes, during the creative process, three audiovisual portraits took shape. It was important for me to show the contrast between people who were born blind and those who lost their sight later in life. Two participants were born blind, while two lost their sight due to accidents. One of them, Svetoslav Tsvetkov, lost his vision in an industrial accident. Despite years of treatment attempts, he has been completely blind for several years now. However, this hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his dreams. With his great sense of humor, he is beloved by young people. That’s how I met him—on our very first meeting, I proposed that we shoot two short films together, and he immediately said, “Sure! And you’ll help us promote our sailing team.” So, he became the second cameraman in the video installation. There was also another participant behind the installation—my dedicated assistant in working with echolocation. Pancho Karamanski lost his sight at the age of ten. He is a young man with a strong, positive spirit and an open mind. He reinforces the idea that when a person is open to the world, miracles begin to happen. I learned a lot about echolocation from him.
Vesela Nozharova: What role does echolocation play in the exhibition?
Diana Boneva: Echolocation is a method that helps visually impaired people navigate their surroundings. When I decided to create a project on this topic, I started reading extensively. I came across several articles on echolocation, and I was deeply inspired. This technique allows people with visual impairments to be more independent and do things they would otherwise need assistance with—or not attempt at all. With echolocation, they can ride bicycles, climb, skateboard, hike—essentially, move through space more freely. Mastering echolocation requires practice, willpower, motivation, and persistence, but once developed, it grants greater autonomy. To me, this represents a bright future for visually impaired individuals. I am a person of action—I love being engaged in various activities. Besides my artistic interests, I enjoy mountaineering, climbing, and practicing yoga. These pursuits recharge me, provide new emotions, and help me through difficult times. They allow me to push past my own limits and keep moving forward. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to challenge themselves and overcome fears to achieve their goals. This is why I wanted to create something that could serve as a starting point for visually impaired people. While they do use echolocation, it’s often passive—relying on environmental sounds. For the project, we developed an echolocation installation in the form of a game, encouraging them to consciously practice the method and use it actively. Active echolocation involves producing sounds—clapping or clicking with the tongue—to detect objects based on the echoes. By analyzing these echoes, they can discern an object’s distance, size, shape, and material.
Vesela Nozharova: How did you approach selecting media for the exhibition? Was it important for you to maintain strong visual elements?
Diana Boneva: I have been working with video art for some time now. Video is my current artistic medium—my camera is my paintbrush. So, I wanted video to be an integral part of the exhibition. At the same time, the visually impaired cannot see the works, but they can hear them. It was important to ensure that they could experience what was happening in the gallery through sound. While they cannot physically see the images, they can still engage with the event and feel it. The audio elements help transport them to the scene.
The chosen media also allowed me to encourage visitors to rely on senses beyond sight or touch. The ability to use only hearing to form an impression or navigate an environment takes one to another level—into a more imaginative space. At the same time, it heightens concentration, making people more aware of their steps and surroundings, redefining security and perception.
My aim was to create an environment that, on the one hand, would be informative for all visitors; on the other, would be “accessible,” receptive, and useful for the blind; and thirdly, would provide the rest of society with an opportunity to understand the world of people with visual impairments.
The blind and, in general, people with specific needs live in highly isolated communities, which I believe are somewhat artificially imposed. Through this exhibition, I wanted to create conditions for people to communicate freely and to reflect on the idea that the absence of something does not necessarily mean an obstacle or a problem. Instead, it can be a catalyst, a provocation, a stimulus for development, creativity, and the search for new approaches and solutions.
Vesela Nozharova: Do you see this exhibition as part of something bigger, or have you exhausted your interest in the world of the visually impaired?
Diana Boneva: Interesting question. At this stage, I can’t say for sure what the next steps will be. For now, I want to present the exhibition in other cities. I also have an idea to showcase the video installation outside the exhibition format for charitable purposes.
My interest in the world of the visually impaired is definitely not exhausted—it’s just a matter of time before I take further steps in this direction. For now, I want to return to some smaller projects that I put on hold in order to realize this exhibition.