POST aan huis: Sophia Bulgakova

I ended up in quite unusual conditions, as I was traveling to Ukraine, where I am from, for a project and couldn't leave before the borders got closed and all the quarantine measures got introduced. So, currently, I am still in Kyiv, which is on one side great to be back home again, but on the other hand, I do miss my studio in the Netherlands very much. Besides this change, my days are very different than usual, as I am used to spending my time very socially active and with a lot of traveling, and I can't even leave the country I don't normally live in anymore. So now it's appearing to be a very productive and introspective time, which so far is working out quite well. I have applied to a few residencies, started a new artist duo project with a friend from Belgium and have more work plans coming along with different online and potentially offline projects. So, this artistic work structure routine keeps me going and getting through this crazy period. And also, I am now getting a bit of very needed rest and reflection time to regroup myself and go further.

Three things that distract me now and help to undergo these isolating times would be:

Zoom conversations
I'm a very social person, so reaching out to people helps me with social distancing, and new ideas come out of that a lot. It's also fascinating to talk to somebody you don't know very well to connect to them differently or to join a group discussion on something which you are interested in through Zoom. One of these days, I was participating in the networking session amongst Ukrainian media artists. As I'm not super familiar with the scene here, it was fantastically refreshing and distracting.  It makes you feel a part of something bigger and provides very needed exchange and support. Also, parties with friends and cheering through monitors still really entertain me. These evenings helps me to stay connected with them and don't miss my friends too much.
   
Classic films
I love cinema and always wanted to be a film director just a little bit. So for me, it's quite important to stay up to date with contemporary cinema and with programs from festivals and prizes throughout the year. But every time I have extra time, I'm trying to catch up on the classic overview and watch everything I somehow missed so far from what's considered to be classical or iconic pictures. So my upcoming plans are consisting of first of all finishing all Tarkovsky films. For me, the last one would be Ivan's Childhood (1962). Next on my immediate list are Rope (1948) by Alfred Hitchcock and The Draughtsman's Contract (1982) by Peter Greenaway. Also, because of the recent reference towards one of my works and this film, I'm going to be rewatching Blow Up (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni. I think it is a great time to catch up on inspiration right now, and I think films are fantastic for that.



Cooking
As I am back home, there are a lot of old recipes and a great kitchen in the currently closed restaurant of my mother, so it's just perfect for some food experiments. So far, I was mostly trying out different flavour combinations, and now I can recommend you very much making a brown butter with sage leaves and adding it as a base for your pasta dishes. It's fantastic in my opinion. Also, I was making a few dishes with a seasonal wild leek that's very popular here. It is goes very well with any eggsalad recipe, as well as in risotto or with the freekeh grain. Or you can use it as stuffing for any fish you bake. For the last week, I was helping my mom with baking sweet Passover treats called Mazurka. It consists of matza flour and lots of cinnamon, raisins, and nuts. We are going to be delivering some boxes of that to friends, guests of the restaurant, and whoever would like to try it throughout the next few days.

Achter andere voordeuren vonden we meer POST aan huis verhalen, namelijk die van Amber Arcades, Philip Vermeulen, DJ St. Paul, Eva Laurillard, Vera Siemons, Willem Smit, Maire Haverkort en Niek Nellen.