Sophia Bulgakova „[Spomyny]“

Sophia Bulgakova (1997, Odesa, Ukraine) is an ArtScientist, interdisciplinary artist and activist based in the Netherlands. Working at the intersection of art, technology and social structures, she explores cultural identity, perception and imagination through immersive installations and performances.

Her practice combines traditions with technological innovations such as projection, interactive sound, AI and XR, creating sensorial experiences that challenge conventional narratives.

She studied sculpture in Kyiv, completed a foundation in Photography and Time-Based Media at University of the Arts London, and graduated from the ArtScience Interfaculty at the Royal Academy of Art and Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Her works have been shown at CTM Festival (DE), FIBER Festival (NL), Künstlerhaus Bethanien (DE), Sonic Acts (NL), Baltan Laboratories (NL), Mediamatic (NL) and Ningbo City Exhibition Hall (CN), among others.

„Спомини [Spomyny]“ is a Ukrainian word for „memories“ or even „memoirs“. The work of Sophia Bulgakova with this title is an experience deriving from personal and communal accounts of the recent two years of the russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the form of sonic artefacts collected by Sophia, which present itself through the installation created out of insulation pipes.

Discovering one channel at a time and layering the sounds through the pipes, the audience is invited to unveil a non-linear narrative assembled out of intimate encounters of the artist and her struggles in between being abroad and returning home in the past years, collected testimonies and conversations with friends, family and strangers in Ukraine, found footage recordings through social media and news channel which capture glimpses of extreme experiences within everyday reality.

Спомини [Spomyny] is commissioned by Rewire in collaboration with iii.

photo by Christopher Pugmire