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Invented traditions
What are these breast pockets in the costume meant for? Bullets? I found different versions of the supposedly “national” costume, one as a stage costume for folkloric dansers and another as formal dress for military veterans. They come from a …
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National Costume?
A knee length robe, in black or red, with a dagger at your belt and candles (?) in your breast pockets, is that a kid’s version of the national georgian costume? I met these kids on the way up to …
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Wax figures
No, this is not a wax museum, the Madame Tussaud of Tbilissi. These people are made of flesh and bones. They look like this because they are playing their own role in a traditional religious ceremony. The bridegroom is wearing …
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Artisterium
Artisterium is the big yearly art event in Tbilissi opened on 31 October but I just missed it, I flew back to Amsterdam on that day. No worry, The Art Club Caucasus has an extensive photographic review about it and …
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The View
Enjoying the view from the window one last time before leaving…
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Romantic graffitis
The local style of graffitis is somehow very romantic, sad love being the favourite subject. No wonder we get such good drawings, these are the walls of the art academy.…
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Mouchette in Tbilissi
I met Mouchette, my own virtual character carved in stone in a park of Tbilissi, where she serves as a war symbol. She is represented life size, not oversized and someone has added some romantic graffitis on her, tears …
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My baby is gone
My baby is gone and I’m broke.
What is there left to be sold in this country?
Oh, yeah… georgian blues… … -
Oversized Symbol III
The new house of the president: a little gem of totalitarian architecture that popped out of the ground two years ago. Reminiscent of some the palaces built by the Turkmenbashi, the late president of Turkmenistan.…
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Adding to your building
A careful look at recent buildings reveal that a lot of additions are being made: top floors are added to more top floors, balconies are closed with brick walls to create additional space. In the end, you can hardly distinguish …
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Roads Ministry Building
Quite an astonishing building!
GeoAIR had an exhibition there last year “Frozen Moments, Architecture Speaks Back”.
Designed in the 1970s by George Chakhava, who was both the lead architect and the client for the project, the building pioneered the … -
Silk fetishists
For silk fetishists or old museum lovers, the silk museum of Tbilissi is a unique place, a must-see! It is said to have been made after the silk museum of Lyon in France, but believe me, that’s where I grew …
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In her grandmother’s kitchen
The paintings Tamuna did in her teenage time are hanging on the wall like beloved treasures and the cosy and popular atmosphere in this kitchen is a contemporary version of them. The food was great, the invitation unplanned, I got …
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Tamuna had a show
More than 15 years ago, Tamuna had a show at her art academy in Tbilissi. She was hardly 19 and these are all her teachers, posing proudly, with Tamuna’s mother, while she was only entitled a little corner of the …
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Oversized symbol 2
So here comes a classic oversized symbol: bare-breasted woman as homeland/war/freedom. But here is the surprise: under her heel the local tramp hides his bottles. What kind of a metaphore is that now?…
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Virtual Priest
Making a Virtual_Priest seems a very cool idea! According to Saba, the Church seems to have got an enormous advisory power in the country. People tend to refer to the opinion of priests for all kind of private matters, such …
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http://chiti.ge
http://chiti.ge is a satirical site on news and politics in Georgia. It’s all in Georgian, so let’s have an automatic translation of an article, about the last visit of Sarkozy on 6 oct. 2011 , for example. Of course the …
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Public Art
Dear Artist, today I saw another of your public art works and I must say I start understanding your style. You placed your work in an underground passage, a very-well chosen location, mysterious and very busy , run down and …
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Gabriadze Puppet Theater
Puppeteers pretend to be invisible on stage, even when they go bareface. I admire, even envy their art. When I have found my Virtual_Artist, I will become invisible too. Rezo Gabriadze has an internationally very famous puppet theater in Tbilissi. …
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Always Ultra
Another oversized symbol. The nickname Always Ultra was given to this new pedestrian bridge across the river Mtkvari (you guessed it) because of its resemblance to a well-known sanitary pad. Tbilissians don’t like the bridge because of its bombastic modernity …
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Looking for the museum
I am starting to see every construction site as a possible place for the future Contemporary Art Museum, and this is the way I can follow your traces, Unknown_Georgian_Artist. This was in Freedom Square (see the column at the …
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The code in the flags
The french flag was shown the other way round and transformed into a dutch flag. I recognized myself immediately in this 90 degrees rotation, being a french citizen emigrated to Holland.…
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Oversized symbols
I am enclined to think that you were leading my way towards you, guiding my steps by means of oversized symbols: a grandpiano in the park, french flags, etc…They were like the icons of a message I had to …
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Please Eat Grapes!
I became so obsessed with finding this Georgian artist that I started having hallucinations, and hearing voices. A voice said “Please Eat Grapes“, and I knew I had to learn georgian language. That was the only way to …
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Unnamed
Searching for someone on the streets of Tbilissi, I make photographs of posters. My computer is able to name a person when they resemble someone I already know…. …
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Contemporary Art Museum
I understand your show will happen here one day or another. Maybe the building of the Contemporary Art Museum of Tbilissi is not renovated yet, but it will be. In any case, this is excellent building for a contemporary art …
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Dear Artist,
Dear Artist, I came specially to Tbilissi to visit your show in the Contemporary Art Museum, but the door was closed and there was even a car blocking the main entrance……
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Sorry
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Open air galerie
There is a large open air galerie in the center of Tbilissi, on some of the most beautiful walls of the city. All styles are represented there. All styles are preserved. Exhibition and preservation is what a museum is all …
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Le Baiser (after Brancusi)
A graffiti on the wall of the art school looks like a modern version of “Le Baiser” by Brancusi
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