“White River” – a Site-Specific Installation by Mia Momchilova

May 16 – June 15, 2026

Opening: May 16, 2026, 4:00 PM

Ruse Art Gallery

“White River” by Mia Momchilova is a site-specific installation composed of a sound collage and a textile object — a white flag that becomes an image of an inner boundary, vulnerability, and a desire for peace. The project unfolds space as a field for both personal and collective reflection, where an intimate voice encounters the noise of the world.

The work exists simultaneously as a personal prayer and a public gesture. Within an interior setting, it creates a sense of inner space — a place of contemplation, uncertainty, and quiet resistance. Outside the gallery, the installation shifts its character: the sound blends with the urban environment, while the white flag becomes a signal that periodically interrupts the rhythm of everyday life. In this way, the personal voice gradually transforms into a collective chorus — an appeal for preserving the human and for the possibility of mutuality.

In the context of Ruse — a city of borders, of the river, and of passage — “White River” acquires additional layers of meaning. The white flag, unfolding in space as a long textile line, simultaneously evokes surrender and hope, a refusal of violence and the necessity of a new beginning. The river here is both real and metaphorical — movement, memory, and transition.

The sound environment includes the voice of the artist, processed by Sandy Daniel, as well as fragments from the performance “Othello” by Theater Zong, featuring collaged texts by Bertolt Brecht, Heiner Müller, and Sun Tzu. These different voices and layers overlap in a multi-layered sound composition that raises questions about war, fear, memory, and the possibility of peace.

“White River” does not offer a final answer, but rather a space for listening — to one’s own voice, to the voice of the other, and to that fragile place between them where humanity is still possible.