Rest Behind the Curtain

In my work I try to explore the habits and rituals of the season, which altogether comprise the holiday culture of the region. Tourism in the east side of the Iron Curtain, in contrary to that in most other countries, was not a branch of economy but rather a social movement. Soviet tourism and spa vacations were characterised by the sense of purposefulness and belonging. The main aim, alongside receiving some cultural uplift and education, was to allow the vacationers to recover their health and energy and return to work stronger than before. Of course a lot has changed since the collapse of the curtain. Many of the states have been going through a cultural transformation. Holidays became more and more associated with consumerism and hedonism rather then recreation and recuperation. The experience of space conditions our experience of time. The sensation of the feeling introduced by space sometime can awaken the concealed memories on a personal level as well as deep-going cultural memories about the existence of which we might be even not aware. My intention is to create the images that would fit my vision of the past. Sort of invoking the childhood memories again. I travel to the places where time 'had stopped', in search for stillness and monotony of the former Eastern Bloc. From here and now I try to dig into the past to create the images conceived by nostalgia, experiences and memories of someone who was born and raised behind the Iron Curtain.