STILL LIFE - THE REFUGE OF MINE

Composition with blackberries on black background, 2025 (After Yasuzō Nojima)

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I have a deep appreciation for still life as a genre, although I find it to be one of the most kitschy expressions in both photography and painting. My journey with this genre began when I discovered the beauty of the art created by the Flemish masters, who skillfully integrated still lifes into the domestic and religious scenes of their renowned works from the Northern Renaissance. However, I was truly captivated by the realistic still lifes of Chardin (1699-1779). The first reproductions I encountered were in a pocket-sized book published by “Bulgarian Artist” in 1979, which I discovered around 2007. Inspired, I rushed to arrange a few jars of pickles on a chair in the yard of our village home. It was an amateur attempt, filled with the sweet excitement of diving into a new project without self-doubt. Unfortunately, the results were a complete disaster - three jars of fermented pickles, poor lighting, and careless development of the negatives.
Over time, I developed a fondness for the refuge that still life offered me, where I could arrange vegetables, flowers, and everyday objects, allowing time to slip away. It became a paradise for the introvert inside me. The thrill I initially felt from Chardin's kitsch and theatricality in still life returned when I first encountered the stunning reproductions of Yasuzo Nojima’s photographs. His work embodies Eastern perfection, balancing the real with the poetic. It is endlessly inspiring - modern, subtle, and impeccably flawless. These blackberries are dedicated to his memory.
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August 2025, Sofia