M HKA Ensembles

° 1957

Lives in Sofia (BG), born in Cherven Bryag (BG).

Nedko Solakov is a born storyteller whose fairytale fantasy worlds settle in reality. At the same time, his work, which often alludes to the political implications of its museum context, fits in with international trends such as 'institutional critique'.

In the early 1980s, when the Bulgarian Communist regime is still firmly in charge, Solakov makes work that is critical of society, yet featuring a humorous undertone. His experiences as an artist under the absolute censorship regime have a major influence on his later work. With his works, in which he freely narrates and fantasises, he tells the public fictional histories. He does this with a wide range of media – and never without his unmistakable sense of humour, self-mockery and melancholy.

Solakov clearly shows his artistic process, that sometimes proceeds in fits and starts, and shatters the myth of the artist as a genius talent. He uses his own position in the art world to question its functioning.