Ruin Is the Destination Toward Which All Men Rush

In an effort to privatize state-owned property during the 1990s, Bulgaria saw a proliferation of small shops and kiosks, as patches of pedestrian space were channelled into private hands. Today, most of these structures have been obliterated by the subsequent transfers of ownership. On a terrain resembling an archaeological site, four mimes reconstruct the missing spaces based on the outlines of their foundations. They bring back to life the invisible shops by reenacting the rituals of market exchange that were once part of the everyday life of the place. The work’s title is a quote from the book "Tragedy of the Commons" by biologist Garrett Hardin, which over the past several decades has been used in defence of neoliberal policies aimed at privatizing public assets.