Associated Nostalgia

When Bulgarian photographer Eugenia Maximova (born 1979) started working on the design for Kitchen Stories from the Balkans, her self-published photobook, she began to think about how to include "some of those incredible plastic tablecloth patterns so beloved in these latitudes." Then came the discovery that the garish tablecloths have been manufactured in her hometown for many years--all the serendipity she needed to forge a new project, Associated Nostalgia. From plastic cats to brightly patterned wallpaper, nothing is too brash or clashes too much to be included in her still lifes. This monograph compiles the highly staged scenes of the kitsch so beloved in Maximova's pocket of Eastern Europe, creating both a splash of a photobook and an authentic glimpse into the Bulgarian home aesthetic.