Post-tools, 2021

used construction materials and tools, stone, brush fibers, soap, dry plants

For the first art project at the new office of foryouandyourcustomers in Sofia, Maria Nalbantova turns one of the spaces into a studio, thus involving the people working there in the artistic process, and it is key because her works are almost always the result of continuous researching and collecting of materials, information and personal experiences, gradually forming a visual language and narrative. For the series “Post-Tools” / „Оръдия на труда“, Nalbantova deploys carefully sought out well-used work tools that were found on flea markets or in antique stores and which she configures in various forms and interactions. They supposedly oppose labor in the digital domain and the accompanying dematerialization, recalling not only the history archived in the objects, but also the significance of the touch sealed in the traces on them.

The Bulgarian title of the series, literary translatable as „arms of labour“, directs us once more to a person’s own responsibility; in the end, the specific usage and meaning of an object depends on us. In the office, Nalbantova also creates an environment of hybrid plants – a clear contrast to the industrially produced objects that raises questions of our paradoxical attitude towards nature.

Text: Viktoria Draganova, Photos: Yana Lozeva
Interview with Maria & Viktoria by Hannes Weikert

2021/22 Part of the exhibition “Post-tools”, Maria Nalbantova, curated by Viktoria Draganova, foryouandyourcustomers, Sofia, Bulgaria