Sustainability at One | Traditional Bulgarian Embroidery Mosaics Designed with Sustainable and Chinese Artistic Touches

In 2022, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Beijing unveiled a new entrance design on May 24th, the Day of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, of the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture and of Slavic literature. The occasion of decorating the Embassy with this beautiful artwork was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its relocation to the current premises.

The new entrance has two symmetrical pillars of the façade featuring the traditional Bulgarian embroidery mosaics. What makes this artistic piece intriguing is that it is designed with sustainable and Chinese aesthetics touches.

The eye-catching work of art combines elements of traditional Bulgarian embroidery and images of roses. In order to deliver eye-catching visual impact, bright lights with the colors of the Bulgarian flag have been used.

The artwork has been designed under the supervision of Professor Fan Di’an, President of both the Chinese Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and the China Artists Association. The motives of the embroidery mosaic have been created by Professor Wang Zhangxing, vice-dean of CAFA’s Faculty of murals and by Professor Zhang Yunjia, supervisor of the Master’s program at CAFA‘s Faculty of murals.

Another important feature of this masterpiece is its sustainability advocacy. The mosaics was made of recycled glass waste – In brief glass waste had been hot melt, grinding into powder, molding into different shapes. They were put into a stone frame by using a special glue which is internationally certified for being environmental-friendly. The stone frame used natural ore and was carved into the desired patterns as per the design.

The creation of the design has been done with the full support and coordination by the Embassy. For the sake of incorporating Bulgarian culture and spirit into the mosaic art, the professors conducted a thorough research of the Bulgarian traditional art and folklore.

This Bulgarian embroidery mosaic is a vivid rendering of the Bulgarian-Chinese friendship and cultural exchange, and yet another example of the longstanding cooperation between CAFA and Bulgarian universities with art majors.