Pavel Brăila (b.1971, Chișinău, Moldova) began his career as a licensed cook and a three-time freestyle wrestling champion of Moldova. He later graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Technical University of Moldova, but shifted focus to photography and performance. Since 1996, Brăila has been involved with the Soros Center for Contemporary Art, and in 1998, he participated in the exhibition “The Body and The East.” In 1999, he became a researcher at the Jan Van Eyck Academy. His work blends conceptual performance and experimental film, exploring the fragile economies of post-Soviet realities. Brăila has exhibited internationally at venues such as Neue Nationalgalerie, Tate Gallery, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Moderna Museet, and documenta (2002, 2017). Other significant exhibitions include the Renaissance Society (Chicago), Kiasma (Helsinki), MIT LIST Boston, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Manifesta 10 (Saint Petersburg), and the Kyiv Biennale 2024 in Vienna and Berlin. He lives and works in Chișinău and Berlin.