Destination Eternity

In the last years of the 20th century, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, all of the sudden a whole new cemetery culture emerged in its former territories. This new trend manifests itself in eccentric naturalistic engravings emerging out of black marble plaques, some enormous, others smaller in size. Motives can vary greatly from simple portraits to luscious landscapes, complex locations and bizarre collages.

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The cemetery perfectly reflects an epoch, its society and culture. Photographed by Eugenie Maximova tombstones in Bulgaria tells us not much less than carvings at the Egyptian pyramids not only about the deceases that were buried here, but also about people they were surrounded by, their emotions, ideas, goals, and aesthetic taste. Many of those graveyards are not only a form of expressing grief, in addition, they celebrate the lifestyle, social status and financial power of both those who are dead and those who are still alive and took care about representation of the deceased.

At the end of the 20th century, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, all of the sudden a whole new cemetery culture emerged in its former territories. This new trend manifests itself in eccentric naturalistic engravings emerging out of black marble plaques, some enormous, others smaller in size. Motives can vary greatly from simple portraits to luscious landscapes, complex locations and bizarre collages or even three-dimensional sculptural monuments. In the engravings we see an old man holding a shot and gazing into your eyes looks like inviting for a drink, woman wearing a flamenco dress, taxi driver in his car, man sitting at office desk and talking on mobile phone, girl in mini skirt looks like flirting, woman making a twine and many other images, that looks more suitable for dating sites, but not for gravestones.

The origin of this new fashion is generally unknown. However, its roots can be found hidden in the past, in the strong relationship between totalitarianism and kitsch.  Back in Soviet times, kitsch was the most common and only affordable form of aesthetics and decoration. Kitsch has shaped life and formed soviet mentality for many years. The trend might have been set, as some suggest, by the post soviet mafia, which became a reference model in the early 90’s.

With recent advances in technology, there are more possibilities available to those who are interested in this phenomenon. They range from a new kind of colored engravings, instead of the usual black and white, to the possibility to order real installations of all imaginable forms out of various desired materials.

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Eugenia Maximova

was born in Ruse, Bulgaria. 
She graduated from The University of Vienna, reading journalism and communication science. Eugenia Maximova first became interested in photography in 2005 after the sudden death of her mother, a recognized Bulgarian painter. “Looking through the viewer and pressing the camera button helped me to escape the harrowing reality of her loss, to overcome the shock and lessen the burning pain. As time passed, photography became my favored means of communication; a new outlet of creative expression, for how I felt about both myself and my perception of the world around me.” says Eugenia. Eugenia’s journalistic background influences many of her projects. And although they often differ from the traditional concept of ‘photojournalism’. Her oeuvre has been exhibited internationally, she has won lots of international awards, also has participated in numerous prestigious master classes. Eugenia is represented by The Anzenberger Agency.

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