I am 24 years old and in 2020, I received my BA in photography in Budapest. I am inspired by artists that are in tune with their surroundings and their reality, that talk about the issues that are important and relevant now, yet they do not follow tendencies but talk about universal unchanging human matters. I have grown up with art all over around me and I cannot imagine doing something that is not connected to it. I also grew up in Georgia, a country that faced very serious social and political issues, and it deeply affected my outlook on life. As a person, I am very connected to my roots and I imagine my work will be too.
Areas of interest: Photography, poetry, sculpture, video art, cinema.
Why are you a part of MagiC Carpets: Because it gives me an opportunity to work on a project I’m passionate about and to do it with an outstanding mentor.
MagiC Carpets project
6-month Online Art Residency Accompanied by a Long-term Mentorship Program & Production Grant for South Caucasian Women Photographers mentored by Newsha Tavakolian/Magnum Photos was implemented in the period of April–September 2021. See more about the Residency in here.
Past projects you are proud of:
Title: “Sacrificial Land”
Type: Video
“Sacrificial Land” is a project about the Mining City of Chiatura. Throughout the two years of visiting the city, I spent most of my time talking directly to the family members of the deceased miners, and photographing inside the factories. Slowly, I got to know the community. Suddenly an unbelievable and incomprehensible number of problems started opening up to me. I saw families that had to evacuate houses, because they were threatened by the company running the city, families that had to bury their loved ones again, because vibrations of the mines were destroying their home, their schools and graveyards. I saw a city with unbreathable air, that was drowning in poisonous water. A city that once had a theater, a stadium to fit 40 thousand people, a cultural center, and which now only has casinos, where people gamble away the little money that cost them their health.
I used the Georgian myth about a man sacrificing himself as a metaphor for this project, depicting the city itself as the main hero, also sacrificed but not for an honorable cause, but for the failing system.
What inspires you as an artist? Sunlight. I believe one of the reasons I become a photographer is because of how much I am affected by sunlight. I can spend a lifetime observing and chasing it.
What do you think is the purpose of art? I think the purpose of art is to celebrate life. I believe it is a beautiful closed circle. People make art to celebrate life (when people in caves came back after they hunted, they danced and drew on the walls to celebrate their life and pain and victories).
Your favourite book(s): Short stories by Borges, “Letters to Young Poet” by Rilke.
Your favourite film(s): “Don’t Grieve” By Daneliya, “Nights of Cabiria” by Fellin.
Contact information
Email: [email protected] | Instagram | Facebook