I spent three months on a residency in Sofia, Bulgaria during the spring/summer of 2007. During the first month I walked around the city getting a feel for the place and thinking about the work I wanted to make. One of the things that I loved about Bulgaria was that everything hadn't moved over to homogonised chain stores - there were wonderful small odd shops and restaraunts that could be easily missed if someone didnt take you there or you weren't looking carefully. I also found that economic transactions were a place for social encounters. Buying something in a store in Bulgaria can be maddingly slow but I soon saw the charm and quality of life in the willingness to take some time to talk. I developed close relationships with people who ran restaraunts, veg stands, and most especially a group of women who sold their exquisite needle work at an unofficial open market on Alexander Nevsky square. Inspired by the traditional embroidery designs similarity to early digital graphics I, along with artist Simon Poulter, designed a tablecloth based on the arcade game Pacman but transposed it into Euroman. The consequent tablecloth design humourously suggests a federal Pacman gobbling up as many countries as he can. I worked with the women to decide how to make the tablecloths; considering elements such as the best stitches to use and where to buy supplies while discussing the EU, creativity, and life in Bulgaria. The project ended with a celebratory dinner party.

To buy a Euroman cloth contact anya at yesandnu dot com (5 left)

view slide show
play Euroman
review in vagabond
vasya vassileva's essay (download pdf)