A short conversation with Tsvetomira Borisova about the work process for the exhibition A Hot Day, its key themes and techniques.
The exhibition was produced on the basis of a short-term residency held at lo3eto earlier that year.
A Hot Day is on view at lo3eto between June 28 and August 20 2026
The images used to illustrate the text were taken during the preliminary work as part of the residency.
© Tsvetomira Borisova
The exhibition is very reflective of the environment and the very space of the old van that lo3eto occupies – was this intentional or was it inevitable when working in such conditions?
Tsvetomira: Vanya and Valko, somehow together, and initially we attacked the van when we peeled off its ceiling. Then the neighbors came out, and in general the life that is basically closed there. We were forced to repaint the walls and the floor, and I simply took advantage of this “invasion” by turning it away from the van and then back out to the vineyard.
Will you share some highlights from the process of working on this exhibition?
Tsvetomira: I spent quite a long time thinking about the connection between a knee and an apple. I am too convinced of this connection, for though I do not quite understand it, they give me the same feeling. So I started there. Both fit in a handful, making you want to reach for it. Then, I thought of the works already as elements with which I set the general tone – which is that one on which I feel comfortable.
How is this project different from your work so far?
Tsvetomira: It’s more relaxed. I didn’t like it to be very logical or narrative, and I often left things at an earlier time than usual for me.
Where does the chosen theme in A Hot Day come from?
Tsvetomira: From the inside of the space and as a result of some conversations held with Vanya on the topic of female sexuality, also several books, as well as the time spent at lo3eto and in Vetren Dol.
Can we call the central figure in the exhibition a modern goddess, a nonchalant lady, or is she actually something else entirely?
Tsvetomira: We can call it what we want, it’s there and it’s purposefully open and obvious. It’s called The Flasher, after all.
What do the apples – which we see in three separate interpretations in A Hot Day – symbolise, said in four words?
Tsvetomira: Knee, juice, oxygen, apples
Tell us about your choice of colours?
Tsvetomira: The van to me was again like an apple – metal and red on the outside, but alive on the inside. We managed to use the old colour of the van – a pale powder – to cover it so that during the day under the new green the old van shows through like skin, and with the dusk and yellow light in the evening its interior oxidises into a thick yellow.
The color of the apples on the walls is like some kind of bathing suit or slipper from an Eric Romer movie. Vanya and I actually tried to watch Claire’s Knee, for research purposes, she succeeded, albeit twice, but I found it boring even though I watched it years ago. But there’s that rustic chic feel to it that I wanted to capture as well.
To what extent is this exhibition a self-portrait?
Tsvetomira: Well, as much as any other.
What would the girl from lo3eto’s Hot Day and the girl with the apples we know from the work of Vladimir Dimitrov – Maistora do if they had an afternoon together?
Tsvetomira: They would steal a car, etc.
What should we listen to while traveling to the exhibition?
Tsvetomira: Anything by The Doors or PJ Harvey.
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Tsvetomira Borisova Suspends an Ancient Gesture Without Resolving it – а Catapult Contemporary article on the exhibition A Hot Day