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"Faces of masks, Masks for faces"
The photography project Faces of masks, masks for faces was realized in 2008 in the region of Pernik- Bulgaria by the photographers Nelly Gavrilova and Boyko Yordanov.
The objective of the project is to popularize both in Bulgaria and abroad the folklore tradition Kukeri – a cultural phenomenon, preserving even today the most ancient and intransient traditions in Bulgarian rituals. This custom has laid the beginning of the key Fest of masquerade games on the Balkan peninsula, organized since 1966 in the town of Pernik.
After one-year work, study and photographing, the photographers Nelly Gavrilova and Boyko Yordanov have created photo-exhibiton , multimedia and published a 96 pages album with the most typical contemporary masks and costumes, revealing the spirit of the Kukeri tradition, natural for more than 50 settlements in the region of Pernik. There were discovered and studied also unique archive photos /from 1920 to 1970/ from personal, family and museum archives – masks, groups and portraits of the Kukeri tradition from southeastern Bulgaria.
The Kukeri - masquerade tradition has been well recognized for long years both in Bulgaria and Europe . The ritual of masking in Bulgarian folklore culture dates from ancient times being related to the Greek Dionysian tradition. Mask is vehicle for magic influence on the mysterious natural forces. It exists on the borderline between the real and the “other” world, affiliates man to the eternity, makes him unapproachable, endows him the with the power to subservient evil spirits and change the world to better. Kukeri glorifies life and fertilizing force, personifies transition from winter to spring, from dark to light. Kukeri is state of the spirit. Stamped memories from the past and today, they develop in incredible energy, sound and colours.
The project was presented and exhibited
in January 2008
at the Art Gallery– Pernik,
Bulgaria,
in December 2008
upon recommendation of the Ministry of Culture,
at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
during celebration of the Bulgarian Christmas
and traditions and in March 2009
at the National Art Gallery– Sofia.
