Balaganza

Zak Dimitrov turns to his home country of Bulgaria where obituaries are displayed everywhere — trees, houses, coffee shops, any random place one can imagine, but more often than not places that were once of significance for the deceased. The starting point for the photographer was the evidently blurred line between private and public. Grief is a very private experience, yet the families choose to display theirs out in the open.

Exemplary Home is a documentary work exploring the north-western part of rural Bulgaria. It aims to illustrate the effects of rapid urbanisation, progressive globalisation and corruption on the most vulnerable parts of Bulgarian society.

The story covers the famous Camino de Santiago de Compostela network of pilgrims’ ways that lead to the shrine of St. James the Great in Northern Spain. It’s a personal account of the photographer’s journey which lasted over 1000km throughout the spiritual passage.