Maria Makedonska, known primarily through her books and films, recently told us that writing is not just a process of putting words on a page, it is also “listening to insignificant conversations that are actually very meaningful, it is talking and being talked back to, it is a photograph and a phone conversation.”

It was this path that led Maria to create a kind of stall with objects and stories, which she collected over several months through personal conversations with traders at the Malashevtsi market. In the beginning, she questioned them about the trade and the decisions they make in the market. When she sees that this is not working, her questions turn to the lives of the vendors themselves. Maria records their words and these records later become the bargaining chip that determines the price of the “goods” in her stalls.

“I really wanted to show those who haven’t heard or touched the beat to feel it the way I do – with all its beauty and messiness, where you rarely hear the voices of individuals,” Maria says. Here are some of the things the artist suspects:

“Say, mate, it’s two leva a piece.” “Yeah, yeah. And I want a bath pie, but I keep eating the crusts.”
“Love is till 20. After 20 is another love. The real one. Until 20 is the child’s. After 20 is true love. That’s what we are, people who live for years and build something.”
“I don’t come here to make a living. I just come here to hang out, watch some people. If I sell something, I sell it, if not, let it sit. No bread and salt wanted.”

The project was first presented on July 11, in 2024 as part of the “Nine Elephants” opening at the Swimming Pool.