I see

I See, video stills, 2002

Single-channel video, 18:33, 2002

“I See” presents the Bulgarian capital Sofia through the eyes of tourists from the West. In order to produce this work, I took a sightseeing loop of my city, provided by a tourist agency, and shot it with a video camera. I tried to get into the shoes of touristic “observers” and learn what they see from their viewpoint. However, I have replaced the beautiful panoramic view with a black nontransparent strip. There is almost no information left, except for the upper and lower edges of screen. In this way one sees an abstract picture while a voice behind the scene extols the beauty of the city. The viewer builds a notion from what he/she hears, but is unable to see things in their entirety or to understand them. “I See” was presented at the “Gorges of the Balkans”, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany; “Introducing Sites”, Gallery for Contemporary Art, Leipzig, Germany (2003); “Ethnic Marketing”, Centre d’art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland (2004) and others. The work is part of the City Gallery Art Collection, Sofia, Bulgaria.