Yasena Popova – Urban Insects

“Urban Insects examines how a change in perspective can bring a new way to see ordinary objects. The idea of the project came during my class of Conceptual Photography in the university where I was assigned the theme ”The world beyond us”. I thought that everything is around us and we see ourselves from every point, except upside-down. Therefore, I started photographing people underfoot. A year later I wanted to expand my idea, but photographing people was no longer a challenge. When I took my car to the workshop for repair and they picked it up, I saw the sequel of my series. I began to look for various vehicles and a way to lift them.”

The concept and the name of the project came naturally. My first photographs were ready and I looked at the machines’ systems – they resembled bugs. I decided to paint every system in a different color, to make them more vital. Thus they became Urban Insects. This series examines how a change in perspective can bring a new way to see ordinary objects.

The result for now is 10 photographs of different type of vehicles and I already have 10 Urban insects and with them I had the opportunity to take part in two group exhibitions and in one solo.

To continue the series I need to find a way to photograph busses, wagons, cranes, road rollers, crawlers, bulldozers, compactors, etc. To do this for one ‘bug’ I need funding. For more details click on the link below. Yasena Popova was born in Svishtov, Bulgaria, in 1981. She graduated at UACG, Sofia, major Architecture in 2006. In 2011 started her second Master’s degree in Art of Photography at New Bulgarian University, Sofia. She has been in the Masters class at Sofia Photography School since 2013. Works and lives in Sofia.