'buy me something', part of the 'lily lives in the city' series by lyuba haleva


the project 'lily lives in the city', created by bulgarian artist lyuba haleva, investigates the meaning of the individual
in the context of issues raised by urban and contemporary society. the works are on exhibition at art gallery anima in sofia, bulgaria.

the series is composed of large format panels (70 x 200 centimeters) executed with mixed media including prints,
collaged paper and newspapers, and wood. the figure of 'lily' herself is a romantic image of a young woman featured
on the wrappings of turkish delight candies. haleva notes that her great grandfather used to produce the confections
in the middle of last century, adding a sense of the personal and familial history to the pieces.

haleva is quick to note that lily is not a simplified symbol of feminism. instead, the juxtaposed imagery
of the collages raises numerous questions about modern life:

'are new technologies helping in communication, or are they are making us feel more alone?
how far do the consumer tastes reach? are there boundaries? if yes, what lies beyond those boundaries?
lily is an epitome of our personal discontent, which we substitute each day with unnecessary objects.
lily is an expression of deep subconscious fears and a primal effort for accomplishing harmony and equilibrium
between man and his surrounding world. is that possible in today's city-corporations?'



'trojan horse'


'lily in the space'


'bella'


'city dragon'


the original candywrappers from where haleva took the image of lily


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