Roses for Sofia, 2016
Performance and installation
Video excerpt 2:45

Roses for Sofia was created for the 10th Annual Water Tower Arts Fest in Sofia, Bulgaria as homage to the Bulgarian resistance to the Nazis, which saved the lives of 50,000 Jews from death camps. During the performance in an old factory, Sykes interacted with the installation, an aromatic circle of brilliant yellow turmeric bordered by Bulgaria’s highly prized fresh and dying rose petals, performing a deeply personal ritual of mourning, prayer, thanks and remembrance. As viewers entered the space they were invited to add rose petals to the installation and Sykes applied rose water to their wrists, leaving a trace of olfactory memory.


Concept and direction: Ginny Sykes
Music: Victor Sanders
Camera: Milena Simeonova
Video editing: Liam Ziev O’Connor, Ginny Sykes