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17-25 October 2026

Shapeshifters

Домакиня, Водоноска, Булка /Domakinia, Vodonoska, Bulka/ Homemaker, Carrier of Water, Bride

Hosted by Kalina Obreshkova

This project is now archived and was part of DDW26

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Shapeshifters
Shapeshifters
© [2026] [Kalin Gospodinov]. All rights reserved.
Shapeshifters is an installation of hand-knitted sculptures of femininity. They act as a testament to the underpaid and dangerous work of women at tobacco factories in Bulgaria at the beginning of the 20th century.

Домакиня, Водоноска, Булка /Domakinia, Vodonoska, Bulka/ Homemaker, Carrier of Water, Bride

You are invited to get closer to the openings of the sculptures, where the scent brings you back to a life centred around the production of tobacco. Each sculpture carries the names of traditionally female domestic roles, contrasting them with the reality of the ever-changing faces of womanhood and femininity. The project aims to keep the memory of the unrecognised labour of women and evoke empathy through a sensory experience of smell and observation.

Through a practice of craft, inspired by a technique of knitting domestic vessels with corn leaves, Kalina seeks to decontextualise tobacco as a consumable good and reframe it as a material of creation instead of destruction and oppression.

Hand-knitted tobacco leaves
Hand-knitted tobacco leaves
© [2026] [Kalin Gospodinov]. All rights reserved.

About Kalina Obreshkova

Kalina is an object designer whose practice is bred by play and experimentation, guided by a material-driven, hands-on approach.Recurring themes in her work are those of belonging and memory, often embodying a child’s perspective when making and creating, infusing her work with honesty and curiosity