Closed «squat shop»

A «squat shop» is a store located in the basement of a building. These metal boxes open to reveal shelves displaying samples of the goods being sold. The seller stands in the basement and passes the goods through a small window at sidewalk level. The buyer must crouch down to pay and collect their purchases, hence the name «squat shop.»

These shops were popular in Sofia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was an easy and inexpensive way to start a small business if you had a basement in the city center. Typically, these are shops selling drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, and confectionery, but there are also squat shops selling pots and pans, clothes, and even shoes. These shops were very characteristic of the Sofia landscape, but there are not as many as there used to be.

Galya also sees this closed shop as a story of failure. She often photographs abandoned buildings and neglected spaces because, just as she does not want to disturb animals, she does not want to disturb people either. If she photographs something that is not abandoned, something that someone actually cares about, they might cause her problems. And this is not just an illusion; she has been harassed by police officers while taking pictures. Not everyone can be seen as a harmless photographer.