Nadezhda Petrova

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Statement : 

These art dolls are created within the project Human Times, co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union, with coordinator Foreground Foundation, Bulgaria. The project aims to examine various aspects of totalitarian regimes and their destructive impact on man.

Topics covered include the use of poison gas as a weapon of mass extermination, and the robbery of human and personal freedom - both physical and the right to personal opinion and progress of thought.

Our main goal is to create a biographical memory of man, which protects us from committing repeated crimes against humanity.

Belene concentration camp – the invisible killer of free thinking”
The story of this particular art doll-lamp began with a title of a book. “The Belene Concentration camp – the island that killed the free man” is a book by Borislav Skochev. The book traces the periods of the camp’s existence, the legal grounds for incarceration, the organization of the concentration camp system, economic activity and forced labour, agency and operational work, security, regime, food, clothing, punishments, medical care, escape attempts, shootings. And also the manifestations of resistance against the crushing of the human spirit. For the entire existence of the Belene concentration camp, more than 15 000 people passed through it – 11 000 without trial and sentence and 4 000 prisoners (1952-1953). These people are the most authoritative in their environment, the most intolerant of the imposed new order of personalities. There is no doubt that the very mention of “Belene” makes our hair stand on end. As I was being led around Belene island, somewhere between the swamps and the Danube (a successful trap for everyone), I was thinking that the title perfectly reflected what I felt. This feeling of hopelessness, despair, remoteness and complete isolation from everything familiar. These were the emotions I wanted to incorporate into the next doll. So I called my next doll “Belene concentration camp – the invisible killer of free-thinking”.
Work Credit: 
The doll is created within the project Human Times, co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union, with coordinator Foreground Foundation, Bulgaria.
"Hitler will send no warning - so always carry your gas mask"
The idea for this art doll arose as a result of a propaganda poster from the time of World War II in Great Britain, which I came across. The headline is about the use of poison gas by the Nazis as a weapon of mass destruction and appeals to more vigilance. The use of war poisons is a war crime and it is difficult to remain indifferent to this sinister and cold-blooded act of extermination of human beings. The irony of fate is the fact that the discoverer of the highly toxic gas-liquid chlorine as a strategic weapon in war is the German chemist Fritz Haber, who is of Jewish origin. The doll entitled “Hitler will send no warning – so always carry your gas mask” aims to take us back to this shameful moment in the human past and make us think about the meaning of human life and its value. Why do people themselves devalue another person’s life and how do you judge whose life is worth more? The doll is a soldier in a Nazi uniform. The dark colour of the uniform hints at impending evil, and the red emblem on the sleeve warns of impending danger. The soldier releases toxic gas behind him and leaves behind only death and lost lives. He wears a gas mask, and his face remains indistinguishable, as the face of terror has no clear features. It lurks deep within each of us. And it’s up to us to release it. The design of the gas mask is inspired by the steampunk trend. Against the background of clouds of thick smoke, we can distinguish a small flower with a protective mask, which is the only surviving among a sea of stunted plants. There it is the presence of a ray of hope for good, which will always oppose even the greatest evil. But are we worthy to rediscover this ray of goodness in our hearts? Or on the contrary… will we get the dominant beast “Terror” out of there?
Work Credit: 
The doll is created within the project Human Times, co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union, with coordinator Foreground Foundation, Bulgaria.
Bio: 

Nadezhda is based in Kazanlak – a small town, situated in the Rose Valley, Bulgaria. She has a bachelor’s degree in Graphic design from the Technical University of Sofia, after which she also successfully completed a master’s degree in New Bulgarian University. She works as an illustrator on a freelance basis since her graduation. She opened her own studio for illustration and art dolls called “Made by Nadiusha” in 2019. There she expresses her bold ideas the way she wants to.

Greece
Athens
Denmark
Copenhagen
Mexico
Cancun
Japan
Nagano
United Kingdom
london

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