Life Is a Symphony

Alla Georgieva. Mom's Dresses / Alla Vitta vs. Jan van Eyck, 2013

Alla Georgieva started working on her project, Life Is a Symphony in 2012. The path to its completion and the decision to share it was a long one, meandering through a crescendo of emotions, of the most profound and personal kind.

This exhibition – featuring paintings, objects, photographs and drawings embroidered by hand (with thread and hair), tells a story of suffering, loss, pain and love. The past floods through to the present, finding stillness in the artist’s parting moment with her mother, which coincides with her own farewell to an integral part of herself. The present offers little solace, as the artist finds herself in the same predicament as her mother – a looming disease threatening her own existence, after having taken her closest person. This dark procession of events hints at the unjust way of the world and the fateful bond of two individuals, in life and in death.

Black thoughts, fear of disease, death and parting – an inseverable part of one’s existence, are “dressed” by Alla Georgieva in bright garments. These are not just her mother’s dresses, bound to her childhood and personal memories. They are also the artist’s suggestion that, in spite of everything troublesome in the world, we can still seek and find harmony. When she came to the realization that she would in fact survive, the artist decided that from then on, she would sign her works as “Alla Vitta”.

Disease, “an abrupt stop along the way”, forces people to face their own weaknesses and fears. In Alla’s case, the thoughts of death are deeply connected with the sorrow of knowing that one day, she will also have to part with the world of art. It’s no coincidence that several compositions are homages to her favorite artists.

Quite often, Alla Georgieva’s works share personal stories and experiences. Her own image appears repeatedly, as a sort of guarantor of the veracity of her stories and life experience. This exhibition is ultimately a self-portrait of the artist’s life, but it is also a portrait of the anxieties and relationships that shape each and every one of us.

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