After representing Bulgaria at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2025, PSEUDONATURE returns to Bulgaria with an exhibition at the Regional Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv, on view from June 12 to August 15.

Developed as an adapted version of the original project, PSEUDONATURE 2.0 transfers the installation from Venice—one of the world’s cultural capitals—to the context of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s renowned city of culture. Here, the project’s core themes of climate change, technological simulation, and artificial intelligence intertwine with questions of national identity, cultural memory, and contemporary realities in Bulgaria. The official opening will take place on June 12 at 5:30 PM at the museum.

Before opening in Plovdiv, PSEUDONATURE 2.0 will make a brief stop in Sofia. On June 3 at 5:30 PM, the project will be presented at SOLD OUT Gallery through a performance and public discussion dedicated to the adaptation of the Venice pavilion to the Bulgarian context.

Curated by architect Yasen Markov, the project continues to explore the boundaries between nature and technology, reality and simulation, questioning prevailing notions of sustainability in a world where natural processes are increasingly shaped by human intervention, algorithms, and artificial intelligence.

Climate Paradox Comes Home

At the core of PSEUDONATURE lies a paradoxical system in which solar energy powers a snow cannon that produces artificial snowfall in the middle of summer. The snow gradually covers the solar panels that sustain the installation itself, turning the sun into both the source and the destroyer of the system. This self-sabotaging cycle challenges assumptions about sustainability, technological control, and human intervention in natural processes. Positioned between climate anxiety, technological simulation, and the absurdity of contemporary environmental solutions, the project asks whether we truly control nature—or merely adapt to its constantly shifting forces.

The exhibition in Plovdiv marks the first presentation of PSEUDONATURE in Bulgaria following its appearance in Venice. Specially adapted to the architectural and cultural context of the Regional Ethnographic Museum, the exhibition extends across both the museum’s interior spaces and its courtyard. There, the iconic installation of solar panels and a snow cannon enters into direct dialogue with the architecture of Plovdiv’s Old Town, transforming the building and its surroundings into a unique climatic spectacle. Between Revival-era interiors, technological infrastructure, and artificial snowfall, the project creates a tension between past and future, local memory and global crises.

The Interior Between Tradition and Modernity

The interior section of the exhibition develops the idea of tradition as a system of knowledge and adaptation. In the museum’s central hall, the abstract Revival-style “living room” from the Venice pavilion will be recreated, this time situated within the authentic setting of an actual historic house from the period.

At the heart of the installation is a textile carpet by artist Rosie Eisor, depicting the mythical hales from Bulgarian folklore—supernatural beings believed to foretell storms and bad weather. This time, the work will be presented in dialogue with artifacts from the museum’s permanent collection. The composition is complemented by an artificial fireplace created by Technobeton. The exhibition also includes an interactive installation by artist Ivelina Ivanova, presenting a dystopian vision of a future winter landscape in Venice.

Catalogue: An Updated Reading of PSEUDONATURE

Alongside the exhibition, a new catalogue will be published, extending and reinterpreting the ideas of PSEUDONATURE from Venice through a new, almost pseudo-bureaucratic perspective. The publication brings together visual essays, project documentation, archival materials, reports, and new “recipes for good weather,” expanding the logic of PSEUDONATURE beyond the exhibition itself.

Suspended between artistic fiction, technical report, and climate opera, the catalogue traces PSEUDONATURE not only as an architectural installation but as an expanding system of images, climatic fantasies, administrative absurdities, and collective attempts to rewrite the relationship between nature, technology, and imagination.

PSEUDONATURE as a Platform

PSEUDONATURE 2.0 will also function as an active platform for meetings and discussions. Throughout the exhibition, a series of events featuring artists, curators, collectors, and cultural professionals will take place. The project aims to foster a community and create a space for exchange in the heart of Plovdiv’s Old Town.

PSEUDONATURE 1.0 in Venice

Within the highly competitive environment of the Venice Architecture Biennale, PSEUDONATURE established itself as one of the most visited and recognizable national pavilions. The installation attracted nearly 28,000 visitors and received attention from both the international professional community and leading architectural and cultural media outlets. The response confirmed both the relevance of the project and its potential for development in new contexts.

Team

The project is curated by architect Yasen Markov, an architect and designer working between Munich, Stuttgart, and Sofia. A graduate of the University of Stuttgart, Markov works across architecture, design, and experimental artistic practices, exploring the relationships between culture, technology, and nature. The architectural adaptation for Plovdiv was developed by architect Gergana Hristova. The project is realized by an interdisciplinary team of curators, artists, designers, and organizers.

A Brief History of Bulgaria’s Participation in the Architecture Biennale

Bulgaria made its debut at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008 with the exhibition “Bulgaria: The Young Architects,” curated by architect Georgi Stanishiev and Vesela Nozharova. However, the country’s path toward a sustained presence at the forum has not been easy.

For years, Bulgarian architects and professional organizations advocated for regular participation in the world’s most important international architecture event. This was finally realized in 2023 through the efforts of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria, when the country presented the project “Education is the Movement from Darkness to Light,” curated by architect Boris Tikvarski.

Following its presentation at the Biennale, the 2023 pavilion was exhibited at Toplocentrala – Regional Centre for Contemporary Arts in Sofia from December 20, 2023, to February 15, 2024, establishing a precedent for Bulgarian pavilions to continue their life in Bulgaria after their debut in Venice.

PSEUDONATURE by architect Yasen Markov thus becomes only the third Bulgarian project presented across the nineteen editions of the Venice Architecture Biennale and the second to be adapted and exhibited in Bulgaria. Following the 2025 participation, Bulgaria has already secured its presence at the next edition of the Architecture Biennale in 2027, laying the foundations for a more sustainable and continuous Bulgarian participation in this prestigious international forum.