THE RHODOPE FABLE
#environment, fauna, tradition / Umwelt, Fauna, Tradition
PAULA FLORES & ZACHARI LOGAN
Curated by Denise Parizek
LITTLE BIRD PLACE Sofia & INTERNATIONAL ART RESIDENCY in Lehsten, Bulgaria
Opening 6th of June 2025
Duration 8th of June – 26th of June, 2025
In Cooperation with Little Bird Place Gallery, ACF Sofia, Saskatoon Board, Canadian Board
THE RHODOPE FABLE
Knowing and working with Paula Flores and Zachari Logan for many years an idea of a match emerged in my mind. The idea was to bring these two artists together to realise an exhibition in Little Bird Nest. The two artists, the gallery and I myself are focussed on the theme of nature. The residency in Leshten, in the Rhodope Mountains, inspired me to research the mountain environment, the plants typical of the Rhodopen and the history of this long-inhabited area.
Paula Flores, born and raised in Mexico, draws on her roots and the traditions of Mexico’s indigenous population. She traces the loss of connection with nature, visualises an alternative view of nature and entices her audience to immerse themselves in the archaic world through olfactory installations. Paula Flores appeals to all our senses and thus touches deep human emotions. Her relationship with nature felt magical, based on the stories of her grandparents, who introduced her to the human connection to nature and the ancient tradition of living with nature. Their vocabulary was filled with references of nature and all the beings that inhabit within. Herself being from a city didn’t fully understand all of these poetic ways of nature that overflow into language, culture and behaviour. Memories of her childhood and own experience over the years influenced her artistic approach and the resulting works.
Zachari Logan evolves a visual language that explores the intersections between masculinity, identity, memory and place. Inspired by the strategy of visually quoting places, artworks and experiences, Logan transforms his body into its own embodiment of nature. This shift echoes ideas of ideals of beauty, mortality, landscapes and the contemplation of nature. In his drawings and paintings, he combines nature with his body, blurring the boundaries. Recently, he has been implementing worn, painted items of clothing that represent the connection between temporal realms like a stripped-off shell. Iconographically, he refers to Catholic rites and paintings that he researches while travelling in Europe.
Both artists work with nature, organic materials and fabrics, both are painters and drawers and present their works as installations. Nevertheless, their artistic expressions diverge, which in my eyes represent two different approaches. During our residency in Leshten, in the Rhodope Mountains, we had the opportunity to explore the botany, culture, religion and people of this region. Influences from Byzantine art in the churches, the icons, the intense colors, the plants and traditional materials of the Pomak group are expressed in the works of the two artists.
The influence of the time in Leshten and the various interpretations of the experiences and research of the two artists makes the juxtaposition interesting and inspires me to create a connection between the two positions by trying to realise an overall installation of both artworks.
Denise Parizek
PICTURES OF THE EXHIBITION
COPYRIGHT Mihaela Ivanova / Little Bird Place Sofia
Paula Flores was born and raised in the hectic border city of Tijuana, Mexico. She has a bachelors in visual art from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and a Masters in Art & Science from die Angewandte (University of Applied Art Vienna).
Using rocks,branches, plants, bacteria and fungi as storytellers of the history of the world and guides for interspecies relationships. I explore diverse understandings of who we are as humans out and inside of what is considered the natural world by applying multispecies mediator roles and inverting it in as many ways possible. Pushing myself to leave the concepts and comfort of what it is to be either human or nature.
She is based in Vienna, presenting her art works, performances and lectures internationally.
Selected Collections
Permanent collection Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, U.S.A Archive collection Art Omi
Canadian artist Zachari Logan works mainly with large-scale drawing, ceramics and installation practices, evolving a visual language that explores the intersections between identity, memory and place. Employing a strategy of visual quotation, mined from place and experience, Logan re-wilds his body as a queer embodiment of nature. This narrative shift engages ideas of beauty, mortality, empirical explorations of landscape, and overlapping art-historic motifs that all underline a fundamental interconnection of the human as nature. As an extension of his studio practice, Logan has attended many residencies; including Vienna’s Museums Quartier MQ21 Program, the International Studio & Curatorial Program in Brooklyn, Wave Hill Botanical Gardens Winter Workspace Program in the Bronx and Little Bird Artist Residency in rural Bulgaria. Logan was artist in residence at the Tom Thomson Shack at the McMichael Gallery in 2017, a commission of the Ontario Government to commemorate the centenary of Tom Thomson’s death. In 2021 Logan was the Koerner Artist in Residence at Queens University. Logan has worked collaboratively with several celebrated artists, including Ross Bleckner and Sophie Calle and his work has been featured in many publications worldwide, including BBC Culture, The Boston Globe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Border Crossings, Huffington Post, Canadian Art and Hyperallergic to name a few.
Logan has exhibited widely throughout North America, Europe and Asia and is found in private and public collections worldwide, including; National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Remai Modern, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Peabody Essex Museum, Leslie-Lohman Museum, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (NMOCA), 21cMuseums Hotel Collection and Thetis Foundation, among others. Logan’s recent institutional projects include Shadow Of The Sun: Ross Bleckner & Zachari Logan, (2021) at Wave Hill Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, Wildflower (2021) a solo exhibition at the Canadian High Commission in London UK, Ghost Meadows, at Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Canada (2021-22), Remembrance, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem Massachusetts (2022-23), The Flourishing Edge at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum, a commission for the Joan Courtios Galleries (2023-24) and most recently, The Body Draws Itself, at Memorial Univeristy’s Grenfel Art Gallery in Cornerbrook, Nfld. (2024)
