ON THE PORTRAIT AS A GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE

Monanieba, 2010 (After the movie Repentance, 1987 by Tengiz Abuladze)

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​Objectivity has never been my primary concern in photography; that focus is typically reserved for photojournalism and documentary photography. While photographing a specific person, complete with all the realistic documentation it entails, is engaging and entertaining, it has never been essential to me. Not that I don’t take such portraits; they are meaningful to the individuals I photograph and their families, reflecting their personal histories. However, the portraits that truly resonate with me extend beyond that. 
What excites me most is the tremor of spontaneity that can emerge, even when everything seems staged. It's that moment when you catch a glimpse of another world hidden behind the facade of a face. Even more crucial is the process that follows: the experimentation. It is precisely in this phase that I uncover the path to the invisible - the image that reveals itself only during the act of creation.
My affection for the portrait genre also stems from its potential to tap into the collective unconscious. It allows me to leave my mark among the endless collection of symbols, faces, and timeless images. I have never been truly interested in the “here” and “now.” Any trace of them distracts me, which is why I strive to avoid them as much as possible. This task is no easy feat; stripping an image of the stamps of the present and the traces of time feels like a game of cat and mouse.
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August 2025, Sofia