Aaron Roth, “The last good drink” at Ko-Op Sofia, Sofia

“The last good drink” by Aaron Roth, curated by Vasil Vladimirov, at Ko-Op Sofia, Sofia, from 05/09/2024 to 29/09/2024.

In The Last Good Drink, Aaron Roth presents an installation commissioned by KO-OP that critically examines the impact of real estate development on our urban environment. The title refers to the mid-1970s, a period marking the rise of neoliberalism—the dominant ideology in Western political economies. Neoliberalism promotes minimal state intervention, allowing markets to dictate social and economic issues, including housing. Bulgaria’s abrupt transition from a state-controlled economy during the socialist regime (1945–1989) to a free-market system after 1989 illustrates this extreme ideological shift.

In architecture, the modernist principle of “form follows function” has been replaced by “form follows profit.” While modernist projects aimed to reorganise society for a better future, late-stage capitalism confines us to a de-historicized present, stripped of future aspirations. Roth’s installation reconfigures the gallery space by using raw construction materials typically found on building sites. These unrefined materials are transformed into an aesthetic that embodies commodification, representing a form of capitalist realism that alludes to its socialist counterpart.

By obscuring the gallery’s characteristic columns, the installation evokes an entropic state, erasing cultural heritage and severing connections to a past distinct from the present. It also prompts reflection on the destruction of cultural heritage in favour of profit-driven developments, raising the question of what cultural legacy late-stage capitalism will leave behind. The space, neither fully domestic nor public, highlights the complex interplay between personal and collective environments, revealing how our urban surroundings and private lives are deeply interconnected.

The exhibition raises critical questions about where and how we live, and what happens when these fundamental aspects of life are dictated by market forces. While investment seeks to maximize profit, housing should enhance living conditions and foster social cohesion. How do we reconcile this contradiction under late-stage capitalism?

Aaron Roth was born in Los Angeles (1998) and currently lives and works in Sofia. In 2021 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from the Slade School of Fine Art, London. In 2022, together with Boyana Djikova and Vikenti Komitski, they founded Punta Gallery in Sofia. He has had solo exhibitions in an abandoned supermarket near Stochna Stara – Sofia, FLUCA, the Austrian Cultural Pavilion, and in the Sarieva Gallery in Plovdiv. The exhibition is part of the official programme of KO-OP Art Space and is realised with the support of the National Culture Fund.