“All the time is now”, says the poet and essayist A.D. Hope, fully aware of the complexity woven into poetic imagination, amplified with ideas of the past and the future from the vantage point of the unattainable present. Eternity is the paradox.

Eternity isn’t a physical location, but a mental state in which every second in history is contemplated, as if it’s happening right now. This is true regardless of whether one’s contemplating ancient philosophy at this very minute or perhaps some future possibility based on an intuition experienced at that particular moment, or whether one simply gazes at a star whose light has originated in the past and due to the discourse of time and space, it is visible to us right now, which underestimates the questions about the boundlessness of space in the universe, time, light…

This idea is an announcement of the new visual sensation offered by Simon Shemov, i.e. a decades long artistic production that despite the new “empiricism”, has carried the burden of last year’s experience for more than half a century, with the ontology and anthological significance of a rich artistic credo. The subject of interest here is the latest creative cycle of maestro Simon Shemov, titled “Multiverse”, which mainly deals with the aspects of cosmology and cosmogony, specifically the questions surrounding the emergence and existence of the cosmos and universe and of course, using this general phenomenological semantics, and the specific humanistic existential nature of human beings, the quest towards extracting the special from the general and vice versa, through the subjective and singular towards the boundless.

In the latest opus of 400 works, we can accentuate “four phenomenological aspects that are analogous to his recurring interests through the chronological matrix and appear as threads of discourse throughout his entire artistic opus (from the very beginnings in the mid 60s until today). It concerns his interest and natural indoctrination with pantheism, and consequently and quite logically is followed by fascination with questions about the origin and existence of the universe, and subsequently cosmology/cosmogony as key benchmarks ad acta, then the aspects of the connection between art and the nature of play (i.e. the eternal thirst for exploration, experimentation, animation of self and the audience – with a certain degree of participative direct or indirect input) and semiotics and his passion with exploring and transforming symbols and archetypes.” (Ana Frangovska)

“The challenge of his childhood remains a source of stimulation in his artistic endeavours; it still drives his hunger to explore, which begins with a dot made by pen and ink, and even today, curiously peeks behind the fence, behind his Polyptych, permanently hoping that one day this exploration will lead him to find the answer, the truth of our existence, of all things in existence in this infinite cosmogony. The search continues. And THE END is nowhere in sight. Shemov is enamoured with all living things. This is where his immeasurable obstinacy lies and his unwavering determination to uncover the SURVIVAL in the whole universe, whatever, wherever and however large it may be.” (Sonja Abadzieva)

The opening of the exhibition is on September 27, at 8:00 p.m., at the Daut-Pashin Hammam, and will last until November 27.

The curator of the project is Ana Frangovska.