OFLUXO

4710 gallery presents the duo show “LAST SONG” by two young artists, Mari Kalabegashvili and Tornike Gognadze. The exhibition will last until September 30-th.

The exhibition presents two independent works by two artists, Mari Kalabegashvili’s “SINGING ROCK” and Tornike Gognadze’s “DAWN”, both of which are the result of the artists’ recent observations. The concept of the exhibition is an attempt to rethink abandoned, dysfunctional places and objects and turn them into works of art.


Singing Rock / Mari Kalabegashvili

The unfinished building known as the Lotkini Monument was intended to be built to mark the 800th anniversary of the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli. Architects Nodar Jobadze and Alexander Bakradze were working on the memorial, but from their general plan, only the forty-meter main wall was realized. While working on the project, a resolution was issued banning the construction of monuments, and as a result, the construction of this symbolic tomb for Shota Rustaveli was suspended. The area was not registered to anyone for years, but later, the Tbilisi City Hall handed over the land to the United Federation of Georgian Mountaineers to build a public urban climbing wall. My objects mounted at this location, made from fragmented visual swan shapes, replicate its updated function and act as holds for climbing.

The idea of the work and its symbolism of the swan, associated with balance and poetry, have recently emerged for me through the interrelation of various personal stories and events. According to ancient myth, swans spend their lifetime silent and only sing when death approaches. The metaphorical phrase “swan song” refers to this final gesture and to the end of a story, although I associate the same symbolism, through the holds, with a constantly updating process. While observing climbing equipment, I noticed the name of a sports company called SINGING ROCK, which fit the mood and circumstance of the work and became the general title of my artwork.

The project is supported by Gallery 4710 as part of #artiscool’s first campaign.
I would also like to thank the members involved in the process – Guga Dabrundashvili (Board Member
of the Mountaineering Federation), Ana Gurgenidze (Open Space), Tamusa Zarkua, and Rati Beradze.



Dawn / Tornike Gognadze

A year ago, I discovered my intersection with a Telavi silk factory, which became the subject of my interest and the reason for starting a research. In the beginning, I found information in the 1972-77 issues of the Soviet propaganda newspaper ‘Alaznis Gantiadi’(‘Alazani Dawn’) and in the photo album of my great grandmother (who worked as a sub-master in the same factory). After that, I started meeting and recording interviews with people who had to work directly in this factory and got to know this ephemeral reality more closely.

The presented objects were found on the territory of the factory. The machines were used to extract the thread from the silk shell. For me, these facilities have lost as much function as the former factory workers I met during this period.

I worked with Nino Davadze to create the sound piece: we used the recordings of interviews, the sounds of the working process of the objects presented at the exhibition and the audio recordings of the articles in the newspaper, which became part of the research process.