Simply a Line: No Man’s Land between Bulgaria and Turkey
Vesselina Nikolaeva
NAi Publishers
English and Dutch
Texts by Frits Gierstberg, Georgi Gospodinov, Vesselina Nikolaeva and Rik Suermondt.
Hardcover
144 pages
200 x 240 mm
2009
ISBN 9789056626990
The Border landscapes are emotionally charged landscapes, especially those that were part of the former Iron Curtain. In 2004 Vesselina Nikolaeva was granted permission to photograph the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the first photographer to be allowed to do this since the Communist regime had seized control in Bulgaria. Until 1989 this was the southeastern frontier of the Soviet bloc and it used to be heavily guarded. This volume presents the striking photos taken by this young Bulgarian/Dutch photographer over a three-year period as well as previously unpublished photos of border guards from the national archives.
Famed Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov, himself a former border guard, writes about his experiences on and along the frontier. Frits Gierstberg, head of exhibitions at the Nederlands Fotomuseum, has written an essay about Nikolaeva’s work in relation to the political landscape, while photo historian Rik Suermondt examines Nikolaeva’s earlier work and the effect of her dual nationality on her work.
About the Artist
Vesselina Nikolaeva is a Bulgarian photographer who photographs disappearing cultures and the collective nostalgia of societies, their sense of loss and alienation, and their coping mechanisms with globalisation. Her interests are in the blind spots of societies.
vesselinanikolaeva.com
About the Publisher
NAi Publishers was founded more than a decade ago as the exhibition department of the Netherlands Architecture Institute, but soon established a distinctive and independent profile. With the publication of over 800 titles since the early 1990s, NAi Publishers, under the leadership of director Eelco van Welie and his predecessor Simon Franke, has established an internationally prominent position in the fields of architecture, art, photography and design.
nai010.com
Further Reading
(Source https://www.lensculture.com/books/12909-vesselina-nikolaeva-simply-a-line-no-man-s-land-between-bulgaria-and-turkey)
