Conceived as a "duet", 'Thoughts Within Thoughts' originated in 2006 when the artists shared a residency in Darmstadt, followed by an intensive exchange of ideas in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 2007. Twelve new and recent works selected for the exhibition at ARC Projects Sofia form six pairs or clusters complimenting each other. The exhibition opens with two site-specific wall drawings executed in paint, pencil and plaster. Ivanov intrigues with the playful optical illusion of 'Enlightenment', 2008, where the ellipse of light from a hand drawn torch excavates the surface of the gallery wall; in turn Finlay subverts the format of the circle poem where each word triggers the next in an endless cycle from his work aptly entitled 'thoughts within thoughts', 2008 and dedicated to his fellow artist Ivanov.

Placed on facing gallery walls, the next set of works extend references to the found object, and engage in a dialogue caught between the body and mind. Ivanov’s 'There Are No Perfect Games', 2008 continues to test the limits of our perception by undoing ball games as symbols of perfection and fair play. Opposite are a set of new photographs from Ivanov’s ongoing series 'Non Works', 2007-08 where the artist adopts the role of an avid collector of mundane instances of visual and semantic incongruity.

Finlay’s wall mounted neon 'RPS', 2008 is created especially for the exhibition. The childhood hand game rock-paper-scissors here serves as a metaphor for human communication. The artist looks beyond player-opponent binaries to suggest a never ending sequence of options. On the opposite wall, Finlay’s 12 ink drawings bear the same title: created over the past 6 months over many rock-paper-scissors sessions with fellow artists including Ivanov.

Two works take centre stage at ARC Projects. Finlay’s '100 Year Star-Diary', 2008, comprises a set of 5 prints featuring forthcoming astronomical events, replete with the arcane symbols from this predictive knowledge. This is counteracted by Ivanov’s kinetic sculpture 'There Are No Forbidden Thoughts', 2007, which suspends normal assumptions about the meaning and purpose of the humble traffic barrier, as a comment on societal transformation.

Completing the series with titles beginning 'There Are No...' is the world premiere of Ivanov's 'There Are No Innocent Ways of Seeing', 2008: a precise architectural model of a crumpled sheet of paper. This finds a philosophical echo in Finlay’s cubic sculptural puzzle, 'these/words/arranged/in/these/positions. After Wittgenstein', 2008.

'Thoughts Within Thoughts' rounds off with a pair of works which take their inspiration from puzzles: Finlay’s 'Crossword Trees', 2008 is a playful take on the global pastime where cryptic crosswords in both Bulgarian and English have been transformed into ink drawings. If the art of wordplay reappears throughout Finlay's oeuvre, so Ivanov’s persistent interest in novelty objects resurfaces. On this occasion an executive desk toy is rendered as a larger-than-life basrelief in stainless steel: 'Balance Ball', 2008.