A designer, filmmaker and photographer. These are apparently different professions. But they intersect and define the day of a man with unusual insight and memorable projects. "I'm a freelance artist,” Yulian Tabakov says about himself. “At the heart of everything I do, is there is a story or plot. I want to reproduce it an environment of shapes and color. In theatre I do this through scenography and costumes and in books I do it through illustrations,” he adds.

He was born on July 2, some 38 years ago. His father Emil Tabakov is a renowned conductor and composer, head of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio since 2008. Buryana Tabakova, his mother, is a singer. Yulian has studied scenography in the National Academy of Arts in Sofia before going to Paris where he studied at the National School of Fine Arts. Here is what he told us about the first time he worked in a theatre.

"The first time was very strange. I went to Sweden for two weeks and I found a job almost immediately. Since then I have remained 12 years in the same theater (Teater Giljotin), but I have other commitments too. When I finished my education, I wanted to travel a lot and work too. I do not think of various projects as successes or failures, but as steps on my way.”

Along with his work in Stockholm, Yulian Tabakov is well known as a scenographer in Bulgaria. He was awarded the prestigious "Golden Age Award" for contribution to Bulgarian culture. He also has an Askeer Award in his collection for costume design in "Idiot 2012 "in the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. He has been stage designer in a number of Bulgarian theatres, as well as in the Vahtangov Theatre in Moscow and others. But for the first time in 2012, he won the applause as a film director. His film "Tsvetanka” is a real homemade movie production.

“Me and the cameraman, who is Swedish, spent five years making this film. The film has been shown all around the world. It has not been only to Australia yet. It was included in the program of 20 festivals and has won 11 awards. In the movie through in the story of my grandmother we see that of Bulgaria and reach universal topics.”

The latest project, which Yulian Tabakov is involved in, is called Children’s Room. It is a book with an audio CD and wooden toys. This project was a real pleasure for me. I do not believe in collective art but this is actually an example of collective art, he says.

On March 18 in the School of Applied Arts in Sofia an exhibition of Yulian Tabakov opens. The occasion is the 60th anniversary since the school was established. The movie “Tsvetanka " will be also shown, as well as theater costumes from Sweden and Bulgaria.

We asked Yulian Tabakov if he continued to paint.

"Yes, but not constantly. For the first time the Contemporary Space gallery in Varna invited me to participate in a joint exhibition. I bought some canvas and started working at home. To tell you the truth, this is what I want to do. It is a peaceful project unlike the work in the theatre. I am now working on a film about composer Erik Satie. In Stockholm, in my theater, I will take part in the play ‘The Hour of the Lynx’ by Per Olov Enquist. I also work on a project in Russia and I am very busy.”

English version: Alexander Markov