Yavora Petrova studied Book Illustration at National Art Academy in Sofia, which brought her closer to literature. Her first artworks were on literary themes – prints based on poetry, with which she has taken part in over 30 printmaking biennials all over the world. She has traveled extensively and has spent time in Paris, Budapest and other European cities, which have influenced her art. She grew up in a theatrical family and says about her work that she was always particularly interested in the inner world of the individual and its expression through the body, meaning states close to the theater, yet not “theatrical”. She is fascinated by psychologically saturated scenes, but not anything like film footage. She prefers a state of the figure brought to a symbol. She claims that emotions are the most important thing in life and thus have become the primary focus of her work.
