The Neighbours – Catalogue Design
The Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with Commissioner Nadezhda Dzhakova and artists/researchers Krasimira Butseva, Lilia Topouzova, Julian Chehirian, and curator Vasil Vladimirov, entrusted us to design and produce the accompanying catalogue for The Neighbours exhibition, displayed at the Bulgarian Pavilion during the 2024 Venice Biennale.
Issued in 1,000 copies, this bespoke publication serves as both a narrative companion to the exhibition and a tactile artefact. Structured to mirror the installation's setting, it begins with texts from the exhibition’s creators, transitions into an exploration of the three spaces—living room, bedroom, and kitchen—and culminates in a visual contemplation of silence, represented through pitch-dark pages overtaken by heavy gradients. This way, the design progression mirrors the exhibition’s overarching theme: the profound tension between the seen and unseen, spoken and unspoken.
The catalogue’s craftsmanship proves to embody all these ideas, too. We opt for a debossed cover, deliberately giving up ink printing, to bring to the front the tactile impression of letters and thus invite readers to engage with the relief of memory. The design further evokes the perception of intimacy and care through its rounded edges for a notebook-like feel, while exposed stitching along the spine subtly echoes the idea of revealing what is usually hidden. Contrasting the installation’s sombre visual identity and colour palette, the catalogue opts for light, clean white pages, with text presented bilingually in English and Bulgarian in warm brown and blue tones. Gradients subtly emerge and dominate as the narrative unfolds, mirroring the encroaching weight of history. On the back cover, a moving survivor quote offers a deeply personal closing note. Available at the Venice Biennale shop, the catalogue bridges design, memory, and storytelling in a moving tribute to unsilenced histories.
