Presence of absence
Artistic project in a public space by Lachezar Boyadzhiev
Part of CHRIST FOR BEGINNERS by Lachezar Boyadzhiev
Sarieva Open Arts Program
September 11, 2022, 8:30 p.m
Plovdiv, Central Square, 20 meters in front of the monument to Gyuro Mihailov

Two days after the opening of "Jean-Claude for Beginners" (or Power Girls in Public Spaces) - on September 11, Lachezar Boyadjiev's action "Presence of Absence" will take place on Central Square.

The date September 11 was not chosen randomly. Presence of absence is a metaphor that Christo and Jean-Claude often use, and which carries an even deeper meaning in the background of their work, especially with the project "The Gates" (1979-2005) for New York's Central Park,

USA. After 9/11 (September 11, 2001) and the attack on the Twin Towers, the World Trade Center in New York, the world changed forever. Soon after 9/11, Michael Bloomberg, a businessman and collector friend of Christo and Jean-Claude, became mayor of New York. One of the first things he did as mayor was to restart the implementation process of the "Gates" project for New York's Central Park. Its intention is to suggest new horizons in front of the city; to "over-cast" a terrifying shadow without detracting from its meaning. But it makes logistical demands on the artists, as a result of which Jean-Claude and Christo for the first time agree to produce and sell T-shirts, cards, brochures, etc., the proceeds of which go to the so-called Central Park Conservancy (the organization responsible for maintaining the park). They are doing the project in the winter, not the summer, without interfering with the park's trails. "Christo and Jean-Claude adapted the project and so the "shadow" of the "Gates" extends over New York to this day as a kind of "monument in action", which is exactly what we strive for in the "Christo for Beginners" project. - says Lachezar Boyadzhiev.