I was born and raised in a small town in rural Bulgaria, where every man is a mechanic of his own car, a master builder of his own home, a solicitor of his own deeds, a husband and a father next to his wife – the centre of a family life, balance and humility of all survival virtues. From a very early age I was a participant in a self-service economy and making. This brought me up in such way to understand most domestic problems from technical nature and apply certain actions to control them. Thus I gradually drew the conclusion, that some processes, although based on theory, can be solved with some understanding and common sense. At the very edge of the continent, in the valley of Provadiyska River, where the long and condensed Alpine orogeny in the form of the Balkan mountain takes a breath and gradually dives in the Black Sea before its grandeur Caucasian return on the other side, started my exploration of cultural landscapes in its brightest existential form. There, close to nature, I grew in a big family of farmers with simple traditions that brought me up with respect to labour and domestic life and care. But it was not until late when I started my architectural studies at university that I realized the potential of the memory and background that became to be a source of a creative energy. And then I began to record my experience in the physical environment, realising that in order to produce and to design, one needs to understand and to see, to touch on all subtle aspects of existence. I let light through the lenses to produce imagery that speaks of the same story. Developing a growing interest in arts and crafts and also driven by linguistic abilities I pursued higher education in Britain. In July 2012 I have graduated from University of Northumbria at Newcastle with BA Hons Architecture. During my education, as part of our course as students, we have been engaged with developing and improving our skills in building spaces through thinking, examining and testing programmes, form, materiality, structure and environmental responses in a variety of media. Our school relied strongly on the notion of space as being a part of its context, underlined with theoretical works from the phenomenological discourse. However, our approach was partially guided by self-response and personal research
thus finding pre-theoretical methods of working within spaces. The school was encouraging development of skills in handicraft, drawing, model making and most of all – communication of ideas. Thus I have excelled the ability to rely strongly on hand sketches transformed in simple models that then with the application of photographic tools deliver the quality of realistic spaces. Additionally, our work had been supported by alternative virtual programmes that were just another option to develop. During my three years in higher education, I have drawn skills in using a variety of software tools that bridge the gap between ideas and image. Packages such as Google Sketchup and 3DS Max help designing three-dimensional objects and transforms them in two-dimensional images using rendering engines that imitate natural or artificial light conditions. With the help of CAD programmes, we were able to produce technical solutions and precise data that then can be transformed into even more complex three dimensional structures. However, in the process of work I prefer relying on the handcraft and hand drawing and other modest techniques. Photography is a key tool and with it I favour the use of analogue cameras for the genuinely soft effect of illumination on the film and relatively natural balance of white. Thus registration of light is not heavily contrasted, rather gentle and gradient. The control of colours and grain is unexpected to an extent that it brings a certain surprise after developing the negative. At present, I am using four soviet cameras, aiming for the best result, regardless of limitations of those basic stock products. Moreover, I am trying to convert the shortcomings in advantages. Shallow focus or relatively short exposure could enhance the qualities of the object photographed. On the other hand, naturally high saturation and light gleams could contribute to creating images that one tends to build with imagination and daydreaming which are appropriate references to the natural being. But the real wonder of analogue photography lies in the chemical sensitivity of silver. It doesn’t fade darkness, it allows it elegantly to settle in the image and uncover a symbiotic relationship with objects hit by light. Sometimes, there are circumstances in which
not every space could be reproduced well on a two-dimensional image in such manner to bring visual pleasure. So, there should be other roads to beauty. Beauty of atmosphere, of situation, of setting and being. Then a model could well explain the general idea, the programme, scale, layout of a building. However, is it able to give more information on its material qualities and how the object merges with other objects in the landscape? There is a need of a more detailed depiction that fulfils the required value about a space. How does it touch the ground, how do its users interact within the environment, how does it emit light, what is the temperature, etc. This could be manoeuvred in a very subtle way without obtaining sharpness that disturb the vision, rather with attributes that enhance other senses and tell the story with character. A depiction that delivers mystery and surprise. //
To illustrate the processes, qualities and beauty of imagery I have laid my work in the following pages. Georgi Georgiev 26. July 2013
heimat
invisible cities
nietota
GEORGI GEORGIEV [ГЕОРГИ ГЕОРГИЕВ] e: GOGI.GEORGIEV@GMAIL.COM a. FLAT 12, 45 REGENT ROAD, NEWCASTLE upon TYNE, UNITED KINGDOM, NE3 1ED m. +447501903733
EDUCATION/CERTIFICATES
STAR AND SHADOW CINEMA
BACHELOR OF ARTS in ARCHITECTURE
■■ APRIL 12 - PRESENT ■■ BAR STAFF, FILM PROGRAMMING, GENERAL WORK
■■ SEPTEMBER 09 - JUNE 12 ■■ SECOND CLASS HONOURS
VARNENSKI ULICHNIK [ВАРНЕНСКИ УЛИЧНИК]
UNIVERSITY of NORTHUMBRIA at NEWCASTLE [NEWCASTLE upon TYNE, UK]
DIPLOMA in SECONDARY EDUCATION
[NEWCASTLE upon TYNE, UK] VOLUNTEER
PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO VARNA, BULGARIA GRAPHIC DESIGNER / CO-FOUNDER
FIRST LANGUAGE HIGHSCHOOL [PROVADIYA, BULGARIA]
■■ APRIL 12 - PRESENT ■■ CREATIVE DESIGN, GRAPHIC DESIGN, PICTURE EDITOR, WRITER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE
WORK EXPERIENCE
INTERESTS
AGRICULTURE, CROP AND FRUIT CULTIVATION RETAIL
DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, GRAPHIC DESIGN, ENVIRONMENT, PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM/CINEMA, HANDCRAFT and ALL SUBTLE ACTIVITIES
■■ JULY 07 - SEPTEMBER 10 ■■ RETAIL SERVICES IN A FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS
CURRENT CREATIVE PURSUITS
SELF-ENTERPRISE PROJECT / MARKET STAND
■■ DEVELOP COHERENT DESIGN COMMUNICATION ■■ EXPLORING TOPOGRAPHY AND SPACIAL QUALITIES ■■ EVOLVE SKILLS IN GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ALL VISUAL MEDIUMS
■■ JULY 10 ■■ PLANNING, DESIGN, REALISATION of a STORAGE SHED
SOFTWARE
■■ SEPTEMBER 04 - JUNE 09 ■■ ENGLISH + GERMAN LANGUAGE MAJOR
DELICIOUS PARTNERSHIP [PROVADIYA, BULGARIA]
DELICIOUS PARTNERSHIP / PEACH ORCHARD [PROVADIYA, BULGARIA]
ALISATION of URBAN INSTALLATION
■■ ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ■■ ADOBE INDESISGN ■■ AUTODESK AUTOCAD ■■ AUTODESK 3DS MAX ■■ RHINO ■■ GOOGLE SKETCHUP ■■ VRAY RENDER ■■ MICROSOFT OFFICE
PH. SPACE [NEWCASTLE upon TYNE, UK]
CAMERA EQUIPMENT
■■ AUGUST 12 - PRESENT ■■ HELPING WITH ORGANISING EXHIBITIONS, PREPARATIONAL WORK ON DECORATION, INSTALING ART WORK, RUNING RECEPTION AND BAR
■■ SMENA SYMBOL ■■ LUBITEL 166B ■■ VILLIA ■■ SMENA 8
TRANSFORMATORI ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION [SOFIA, BULGARIA] VOLUNTEER
■■ JUNE 11 ■■ RENDERING, MODELLING, CONCEPT, RETAILING, RE-
VOLUNTEER
references available upon request
Images on heimat have been produced between August 2012 and May 2013 on various locations in Bulgaria, between my hometown, the highland and the sea. Images on invisible cities have been produced between September 2009 and July 2013 on various locations in Sofia, Budapest, Krakow, Edinburgh, Newcastle upon Tyne, London and Paris. Images on nietota have been produced between February 2012 and June 2013 on the course of the Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland National Park, Tatra mountains in Poland and my hometown.