

Property From An Esteemed European Collection
244
Pravdoliub Ivanov
Loaded
suitcases, in 20 parts
smallest suitcase 28.9 x 46.4 x 14.8 cm (11 3/8 x 18 1/4 x 5 7/8 in.)
largest suitcase 99.8 x 48.2 x 33 cm (39 1/4 x 18 7/8 x 12 7/8 in.)
overall installation dimensions variable
largest suitcase 99.8 x 48.2 x 33 cm (39 1/4 x 18 7/8 x 12 7/8 in.)
overall installation dimensions variable
Executed in 2010.
Full-Cataloguing
'... the feeling of being displaced or losing possessions from one side and from another the relief of starting from zero without the heavy legacy of the past.' - Pravdoliub Ivanov
Combining the political and the personal, and the effect of politics on individuals, has been a constant theme throughout Ivanov's sculptures and installations since the early 1990's when he left Bulgaria’s second city to study in Sofia, where he now resides. Initially created for a group exhibition held at La Maison de la Culture d’Amiens, France, in 2010, Loaded presents a selection of mismatched suitcases, in various structural states. Their installation display recalls the halls of a railway station or some other place of passage. A muted violence exudes from the skeletal forms, conjuring involuntary collective displacement as well as individual fates broken by history, expulsion and exile, a powerful portrayal of the contrasts between adversity and the opportunity of freedom.
Combining the political and the personal, and the effect of politics on individuals, has been a constant theme throughout Ivanov's sculptures and installations since the early 1990's when he left Bulgaria’s second city to study in Sofia, where he now resides. Initially created for a group exhibition held at La Maison de la Culture d’Amiens, France, in 2010, Loaded presents a selection of mismatched suitcases, in various structural states. Their installation display recalls the halls of a railway station or some other place of passage. A muted violence exudes from the skeletal forms, conjuring involuntary collective displacement as well as individual fates broken by history, expulsion and exile, a powerful portrayal of the contrasts between adversity and the opportunity of freedom.