Victoria Bulgakova

“Ваза” translates from Ukrainian as “vase”. 

 

A vase was an object present in every household because gifting flowers was almost mandatory on birthdays and other rare celebratory occasions. However, it was not common to buy flowers without particular reason, for mere pleasure. Throughout most of the year the vases stayed empty.

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Almost no one owned a simple vase. All vases I recall seeing in childhood were made of bohemian crystal with elaborate carved decorations. A vase had to look "fancy" to justify its claim to the real estate it occupied while not fulfilling its primary function – holding flowers.

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Looking at the empty crystal vases while growing up made me regard them as memory holders between the events when they carried out their duty. Since then I became fascinated with objects that have potential to hold. What their boundaries contain can only be reflected upon, but never fully revealed. 

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“Ваза” series is a meditation on fluidity of memories and their potential to be reshaped over time.