Artists: Tekla Aslanishvili, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Andro Eradze, Alexandre Koberidze
Exhibition title: The Way Things Work
Venue: E.A. Shared Space, Tbilisi, Georgia
Date: July 3 – 30, 2021
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and E.A. Shared Space, Tbilisi
Representation of labor has a long tradition in Georgian culture, especially in cinema. Dating back to 1929 My Grandmother – a film by Kote Mikaberidze, labor, critique of the bureaucracy and siding with workers’ rights has often been present. It is especially the reason of the precarious labor conditions of the post-Soviet Georgia, that representation and reflection upon these conditions has been poor during the post-Soviet Georgian culture. Today, we experiencing a brilliant come-back of the new ways to talk about labor and conditions we live in, in art and cinema of Georgia’s post-post-Soviet moment.
The exhibition gathers works by contemporary art and cinema practitioners: Tekla Aslanishvili, Andro Eradze, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze and Alexandre Koberidze. These otherwise distinct practices are gathered by depicting invisible labor and invisible life belonging to a human and a non-human at the same time. Starting with a 3-minute -long video work by Andro Eradze, followed by a 24 min. work by Gagoshidze, 57 min. of Aslanishvili and culminating in a 3 h 22 minutes-long film by Alexandre Koberidze, the exhibition shows the overlap between cinema and lens-based contemporary art practice.
About participating artists:
Tekla Aslanishvili (b. 1988) is an artist, essayist and filmmaker living and working between Tbilisi, Georgia and Berlin, Germany. Aslanishvili studied visual arts at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts between 2005-2009 and MFA in experi-mental film and new media art in the class of Hito Steyerl at Berlin University of the Arts. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including: Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Kunstverein Leipzig, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, Ashkal Al-wan, Beirut, VISIO – European Programme on Artists’ Moving Images, Florence, Pylon Lab, Dresden, 20. International Film Symposium, Bremen. She is the recipient of Han Nefkens Foundation Video Art Production Award 2020.
Andro Eradze (b. 1993 in Tbilisi, Georgia) lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 2016 Eradze accomplished an informal MFA in Contemporary Art at the Center of Contemporary Art Tbilisi. Eradze’s practice is rooted in cinema and photog-raphy, which is a point of departure for his video and site-specific installation practice. His work has been exhibited in Georgia and internationally, including: Screens Series, The New Museum, NYC, 2021, Short Film Festival Oberhausen, 2020, Photography Forum, Frankfurt Germany, 2018, Popiashvili Gvaberidze Window Project, Tbilisi 2017 and other.
Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze (b. 1983 in Kutaisi, Georgia) lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Gagoshidze studied fine arts at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts between 2001 – 2007 and accomplished his MFA in experimental film and new media art in the class of Dr. Hito Steyerl at the UDK Berlin, Germany. In his works, Gagoshidze considers issues such as the moving image, the political background of its production and distribution, and its socio-political significance.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including: Lulea Biennial, 2020, Kunsthalle Wien, Berlin N.B.K., Graz, etc.
Alexandre Koberidze (b. 1984 in Tbilisi, Georgia) lives and works between Berlin, Germany, and Tbilisi, Georgia. Koberidze studied film producing at the Film and Theatre University in Tbilisi, Georgia between 2001-2005. Between 2009 – 2020 he studied at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). Koberidze’s work has been screened in Georgia and internationally. He is the winner of multiple awards, including: FIPRESCI film critics Berlinale award, 2021 for „What Do We See When We Look At The Sky” (2020) and Grand Prix of the International Competition at FID Marseille for Let the Summer Never Come Again (2017).
The Way Things Work, A group exhibition with works by: Tekla Aslanishvili, Andro Eradze, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Alexandre Koberidze, Installation View, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Tekla Aslanishvili, Algorithmic Island, 2020 HD, Duration: 57 min. Installation View, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
The Way Things Work, A group exhibition with works by: Tekla Aslanishvili, Andro Eradze, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Alexandre Koberidze, Installation View, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Alexandre Koberidze, Let The Summer Never Come Again, 2017, HD, Sony Ericsson W595, Duration: 3 h, 22 min. Installation View, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Alexandre Koberidze, Let The Summer Never Come Again, 2017, HD, Sony Ericsson W595, Duration: 3 h, 22 min. Installation View, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Andro Eradze, Night Vision, Limited Access, 2021 HD, Duration: 03:09 min Installation detail, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, The Invisible Hand of My Father, 2019 HD Video, Duration 24 mins. Installation detail, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Tekla Aslanishvili, Algorithmic Island, 2020, Duration: 57 min. Installation detail, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
The Way Things Work, A group exhibition with works by: Tekla Aslanishvili, Andro Eradze, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze, Alexandre Koberidze, Installation View, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Andro Eradze, Night Vision, Limited Access, 2021 HD, Duration: 03:09 min Installation view, Photography courtesy of E.A. Shared Space and Sandro Sulaberidze
Andro Eradze, Night Vision, Limited Access, 2021 HD, Duration: 03:09 min Film still