Kristina Nikolova
(Italy)Kristina Nikolova is a Bulgarian-born, Florence-based interdisciplinary artist and founder of Atelierseptem. Her work merges conceptual fashion design, photography, textile art, sculpture, poetry, and site-specific installations to explore the intricate connection between the human condition and nature. Guided by sustainability and zero-waste principles, her practice weaves refined craftsmanship with profound meaning, addressing themes of transformation, resilience, and the balance between individuality and collective existence. Through layered symbols and evocative metaphors, Kristina reimagines material and narrative, shaping an innovative artistic language that resonates on both personal and universal levels.
ConnectStabat Mater – The Ten Ages of Woman
Stabat Mater – The Ten Ages of Woman is an exploration of womanhood through ten pivotal stages of life, from infancy to advanced maturity. Each portrait captures the delicate interplay between transformation and permanence, as the body evolves while the essence of the spirit remains immutable. Using natural light and raw, unfiltered imagery, the project reveals stories of vulnerability, identity, and quiet resilience interwoven within each narrative. By transcending societal expectations, it opens a dialogue that bridges the personal experience with the essence of womanhood as deeply individual and inherently collective.
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Gallery
Mater Aurora – Mother of Dawn. Dawn rising from the womb. A woman born of woman. Not yet a voice, but still a call – the silent source beneath it all. Aurora is the real name of the child portrayed.
©Kristina Nikolova
Flora Nascis – The Birth of Flora. The veil conceals. The veil reveals. She forms herself through light and shadow. Not-yet and already – in between. The process of becoming flower. Flora is the real name of the girl portrayed.
©Kristina Nikolova
Vittoria – Victory. Her name reflects her stage of life. She’s free to be what she desires. She sculpts herself from the inside out – her form of truth, come to life. Vittoria is the real name of the young woman portrayed.
©Kristina Nikolova
Viva – Alive. Within it – and despite it all. Among what’s left behind, she stays. Alive.
©Kristina Nikolova
Obscuritas Sacra – Sacred Darkness. Shadowed and bare in the ruins, blessed by darkness on the cross, she again becomes.
©Kristina Nikolova
Mater Equinox – Equinox Mother. Not dark, not bright, she holds the line, where light and shadow meet and intertwine.
©Kristina Nikolova
Mater Nexus – Nexus Mother. Bound by breath – two women, an invisible thread. Through skin and silence, one becomes the echo of the other.
©Kristina Nikolova
Aura Regalis – Royal Aura. Light rests upon her head, as a crown, as memory’s shape. She wears the dignity of what’s been lived and said.
©Kristina Nikolova
Mater Silentii – Mother of Silence. To hold silence is to hold light. She keeps wisdom and devotion in the dark.
©Kristina Nikolova
Memoria Corporis – Memory of the Flesh. That dense lace – a weave of countless paths marking the map of her existence, painted by life with raw virtuosity across her face, lighting, year by year, ninety-nine candles in the dark. She in the light. She in the shadow. She. Yesterday is Tomorrow.
©Kristina Nikolova
Vestigium I – Trace I. …and you reach your hand toward the light…
©Kristina Nikolova
Vestigium II – Trace II. …and in an instant, you see the whole of life…
©Kristina Nikolova
Vestigium III – Trace III. …and you touch the matter as it turns to light.
©Kristina Nikolova
Vestigium III – Trace III. …and you touch the matter as it turns to light.
©Kristina Nikolova
Pneuma – Vital Breath. …and you return as vital breath.
©Kristina Nikolova
Velum Animae – Veil of the Soul. …to then turn back – into the flesh, through the next dawn.
©Kristina Nikolova
