by Ramona Abrudan, photo: Maria Ștefănescu
On the second day of the BABEL International Performing Arts Festival, the foyer of the Trade Unions’ Cultural Center in Târgoviște was transformed into a space of introspection and visual emotion with the opening of the exhibition (Un)Veiling the Truth, created by visual artist and set designer Sorana Țopa. A native of Târgoviște, the artist offers a profound artistic approach shaped by scenographic sensitivity, turning the venue into a territory of active perception and personal reflection.
The exhibition brings together six monumental mixed-media works exploring themes such as human fragility, the trauma of isolation, and the tension between surveillance and the desire to be seen. These are complemented by ten compositions from the Connections series, which delve into the invisible relationships between the individual and others in the context of physical distancing during the pandemic. The digital world, with its unseen but persistent ties, is translated into a visual language that speaks of closeness, longing, solitude, and rediscovery.
At the heart of the exhibition are eight enormous eyes made of crepe paper, suspended above the viewers. These Big Brothers watch relentlessly from the ceiling, creating an atmosphere that is both tense and poetic. The space becomes a labyrinth of mutual gazes, where every step is a gesture of vulnerability—and of courage. The gaze becomes heavy with meaning, and the very act of being watched turns into a sensory experience.
The color palette—sunny yellow, fresh green, deep blue, and vibrant fuchsia accents—is not merely decorative; it reveals moods and emotions. Color becomes a tool of confession, a silent language through which the artist communicates inner feelings, restlessness, and moments of revelation. Each piece is, in its own way, a small stage of internal theatre, in which the viewer unknowingly becomes the protagonist of their own introspection.
Sorana Țopa does not build objects, but states of being. Her exhibition is a visual chronicle of an era marked by isolation, but also a meditation on how we are seen—and how we see each other. In a world where physical presence has been replaced by screens, (Un)Veiling the Truth reminds us that the truth of the self is often born in the mirror of another’s gaze.
Until June 16, the public is invited to explore this space suspended between art, intimacy, and lucidity. Sorana Țopa’s exhibition is not just something to observe—it is something to experience: an exercise in presence and vulnerability, in the face of an art that watches, reflects, and reveals.
