Kristina Nenova | Wintering | September 2024

Preview Thursday 26th September 2024
5:30 - 8:30pm

Postponed until Tuesday 01.10.24 | 5:30-8:30pm due to unforeseen circumstances

Wintering is a practice I observed and admired as a child, leaving me with endearing memories of basements being coloured by jars of preserves - preparing for the sparse and uncertain times of colder seasons. 

The jars hold the recipes and advice given to you by older women in your life, the knowledge passed down to you, their hope that it doesn’t disappear with them. They contain and display your thoughts, your undiscussed fears, your fading memories; staying on shelves, in cupboards or boxes until you need them, until you hand them to a neighbour, to a friend, to a stranger, or maybe to someone visiting your show.

The exhibition places importance on the way knowledge is passed down within families, the preservation of fading distant memories and highlights the urgency of now.

Comments….

Many thanks for making me so welcome. It was great to talk about the future and see the exhibition. When I got home I made a Bulgarian(esque) stew and added the pickles to it. They were delicious. I even used some of my precious Bulgarian seasoning – when I was there every meal seemed to have this wonderful seasoning of fenugreek, salt and …. (ingredients unknown to me) I have searched online but to no avail so I have to use the small amount I have left sparingly!

Peter M

Lunchtime Conversation Sunday 20th October -visitor comment:

This was our first visit to the Basement Arts Project and we booked onto the lunch and conversation with the artist Kristina Nenova. Whilst Bruce and Kristina prepared our lunch we sat around a cozy kitchen table with sculptor Keith and another gentleman who had moved from London to West Yorkshire a year or so ago and hadn’t regretted it. It was a lunchtime that I won’t easily forget. The atmosphere in the kitchen enabled us strangers, to chat, share stories of time in India, the origins of humous as well as the creation of the Basement Arts Project. Kristina’s Bulgarian hearty lentil soup (natures penicillin) was a treat to eat, as was sampling her homemade cordials.

Kristina’s exhibition consisted of jars of pickled vegetables and incorporated photographs and memories. Another interesting object had also been pickled and the explanation was poignant, thought provoking and deeply moving. Themes of identity, heritage, culture, recipes, traditions, the work had so much depth. Having the opportunity to chat to the artist brought her work to life and left us talking about it for a long after we left.

A walk over the road to see Jacob’s Ladder and the benches was a real joy, not only an amazing piece of sculpture but the meaning behind it, the fact that it was made in situ with help from the locals was heart warming to hear.

This kind of community art should be praised, supported, encouraged and properly funded. Keep up the good work Basement Arts Project.

Debs N