'Смъртна Зона', translated into English as 'Death Zone', is an interactive installation piece, exploring that story of THE ANGEL MAKERS OF NAGYRÉV. They were a group of women from Hungary, who between 1914 and 1929 committed a mass murder of 1/3 the population of their village by killing their husbands, lovers, and family members with arsenic.
What is fascinating about this story is that despite its obviously mark it has left behind on the people of Hungary, as after this incident domestic violence cases had drastically lessened, barely anyone knows that this has ever taken place. Not a single person I spoke to during the exhibition, had ever heard of such a thing. And that absolutely added to the experience.
What is fascinating about this story is that despite its obviously mark it has left behind on the people of Hungary, as after this incident domestic violence cases had drastically lessened, barely anyone knows that this has ever taken place. Not a single person I spoke to during the exhibition, had ever heard of such a thing. And that absolutely added to the experience.
The whole appearance of the piece was inspired by traditional Bulgarian village floor plans and houses built during the ruling of the Ottoman Empire in 16th century, with a contemporary twist to them.
The houses were miniature is size and made of clay with removable roofs that held the story of each household: who was killed, how and when.
Under the "dirt" which was coffee ground, you could find photos of the victims' faces. All images used were fictional and not the real victims' portraits.
The main feature of the piece was its interactiveness. encouraging participators to touch and move the pieces, leaving their own signs for the next person to create a narrative from was at the core of this project. Giving freedom for people to understand the story however they found best for them, without giving them directions as to where the narrative begins or guiding them where to look.
it was fascinating hearing everyone's interpretations and they were all so diverse and even sometimes, very personal.
Through the use of headphones, audience members could hear traditional Bulgarian music, mixed with domestic sounds, such as the clinking of cups, boiling of water, but also those of people heavy breathing and screaming. This pulled the whole project together and helped tuning out the noises from the surrounding space and create an immersive environment for audience members to lose themselves into.
Sample audio track:
To hear better without headphones, please turn up your volume.
To hear better without headphones, please turn up your volume.