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77 ½ It's a multidisciplinary project by Iskra Blagoeva and Valentina Sciarra,

begun in 2022 and still underway. The project has been presented (in chronological order):
- 2022 Performance, Alpinarium Sofia Park during SAW Sofia Art Week
- 2023 Toplocentrala - New Art Center Sofia (BG)
- 2026 Kazanlak Municipal Gallery (BG)

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​Statement of the exhibition at Toplocentrala Sofia

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The project 77 ½  is a result of our research carried out in the last two years for the rediscovery of the Bulgarian female rituals, related to the knowledge of nature and its use for the common good. At the beginning, we came across the midsummer ritual that we have chosen as the starting point for the work:

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"Herbs harvested for the winter should be 77 and a half
for all diseases and for the nameless disease"

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It was intriguing for us to think what this mysterious disease was, how we should understand it. We decided that in toda's society the undetermined illness is likely to be sadness.
Sadness as the most evident manifestation of stress, anxiety, depression or any other mental disorder widespread in our society, which does not necessarily derive from a specific physical trauma or exceptional event. It belongs to the daily life of each of us and derives mainly from our unhealthy lifestyle, from the intensifying disrespect of biological rhythms, and the growing detachment from the natural reality of the cosmos.
In the past centuries, probably since the formation of tribal societies, healing through natural elements and herbs was a knowledge kept and handed down from generation to generation mainly by women, verbally and through numerous collective rituals. This deep experience of life now is disappearing in the total indifference of our society, but it is still alive thanks to groups of women living in remote areas of Bulgaria (and maybe in other not so globally visible parts of world as well). Passing on this precious sacrament and experience to new generations is important in order to preserve the connection with the roots, the past and nature, which also creates an authentic perception of ourselves. In this way, we have the chance to be more than just single individuals isolated in time, disconnected from a living relationship with community and earth. We believe that rethinking of the traditions today is a kind of  "chanting”. And the performing of the ritual is not just a repetition, but a whispering power of words, thoughts and strength transmitted through generations. It reveals the will to live, which is always in places in the “here and now”. In this respect, the return to ritual is never an imitation, nor a tool to reach an alternative state of mind. It is a collective and choral act, which we explore mentally and physically as shared knowledge and a power of female sensitivity in the eternity of time.

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Iskra Blagoeva and Valentina Sciarra

11 July-27 August 2023

Cube Gallery - Toplocentrala

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