http://www.vladimer.net/
Renowned artist/writer Kendell Geers evocatively sketched these changes: “Imagine you
wake up one morning and your country has disappeared. Your bed and house are the same
and your neighborhood is almost the same, but your neighbors seem to have changed and the
city is changing even as you get out of bed. On the news a man that you do not recognize is
making an inaugural presidential speech, introducing a flag and national anthem you do not
recognize and he is speaking about a country, yours, that you do not know.” It is exactly this
complex historical transformation that Darakhvelidze takes up as his subject, tracing the ways
in which governmental ambitions manifest themselves in explicit national symbols and
emblems, as well as in the demolishing of buildings, monuments, and other aspects of the
‘public’ environment. Part of his work involves observations on the rapid changing of reality
around him, and on people’s willingness and unwillingness to readily accept this
remaking of reality. Another part involves an ironic mimicking of and over-identification
with “the making of historical change”, when he makes his own proposals for alternative
flags or emblems. Even though his material means have necessarily been limited so far,
Darakhvelidze displays a great sensitivity to the relevance of the media and materials he
chooses for his work, carefully considering symbolic associations as well as appropriate
means of dissemination to a wider audience.
written by Anke Bangma