The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Katherina Radeva: Transient Spaces
Perth Theatre, until November 27
A Bulgarian emigrant’s post-communist experiences are captured in Perth Theatre’s latest exhibition.
Visual artist and playwright Kat Radeva has distilled notions of migration and identity politics in Transient Spaces via a series of scenarios that include sparsely arranged theatre stages, selfportraits and mythical creatures from folklore. She says moving from London to the Borders in 2016 sparked a new approach reflected in her debut solo Scottish show, which draws on work created since 2000.
“When you make decisions to change, that has a subtle but also quite significant impact on the work,” explains Kat, 37.
“Some of the drawings and paintings in Perth Theatre are really small – like tiny miniature sets – but in many ways that size was entirely directed by living in London and I didn’t have very much space.
“Some of the bigger works I’ve made more recently are reflective of having more breathing space.”
Central to both the free exhibition and Kat’s accompanying theatre piece Fallen Fruit – due to be staged in Perth on November 10 as part of a UK tour – is her specially commissioned neon installation Red Star, based on the former Soviet Union’s international emblem.
“I was born under communism in 1982, so that symbol very much shaped my upbringing,” she declares.
“It means one thing to me but it also has different meanings for others based on their understanding of it. Hopefully it’s a symbol that can create a conversation.”
Kat says much of her visual art is inspired by people close to her.
“There are many strong images of women – some are self-portraits, some are my friends. Myths are also very important in the work and there are a lot of pictures that are simply of empty stages or a lamp on a stage.
“They’re almost like abandoned theatre sets. They’re very ordinary in many ways, but I quite like to make the ordinary a little bit extraordinary sometimes.”
Part-love story, part-satirical comedy, her one-woman play Fallen Fruit casts light on the jubilation in Bulgaria that turned to chaos and famine following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
“The stage has 200 tiny cardboard boxes that are almost like a child’s building blocks and they’re used to create different spaces and worlds. It’s a very visual and physical piece, with the tour happening at a very poignant time in British history,” says Kat.
“People are really questioning or asserting their identity, whether that’s pro or non-European or whatever. All of that’s important to talk about in a levelheaded, rational way.”