Tbilisi 2022 – Festival Recap

During the last months, local and internationally renowned mural artists gathered in the Georgian city of Tbilisi invited to participate in the 4th edition of the Tbilisi Mural Fest.

Since the festival was created back in 2019, the Tbilisi Mural Fest has brought together a number of artists who have turned the city into a single, massive public exhibition space that showcases some of the finest works of contemporary street art becoming an important hub for urban art. 

This year’s artist line-up consisted of Fintan Magee, Vesod , ARTEZ, Mohamed l’Ghacham, KERA, Sasha Korban, Luis Gomez de Teran, David Machavariani and Tina Chertova, who painted their murals in different locations of the city bringing more of their magic to the city of Tbilisi.

Not surprisingly, this year’s festival bears the stamp of the war in Ukraine, a topic that was impossible to ignore given Georgia’s own experience, still present in the minds of their people. This is why Ukrainian artists like Sasha Korban were given the opportunity to express their feelings through art. 

For the occasion, Sasha Korban painted a portrait of a Ukrainian woman in a traditional embroidered shirt holding a huge bouquet of wildflowers with ears of wheat, right in front of Russia’s embassy. Despite the terror of the war, the mural portrays the hope and strength of the Ukrainian people. 

There are also some other upstanding walls, like Fintan Magee‘s who, as usual, based his work on local people and costumes. 

“When I came to Georgia, I took photos of people. This is a portrait of a woman, behind a mirror with her own child, holding a Georgian historical artifact. This shows the importance of culture and transmission from generation to generation. I painted with the effect of tilted glass, I wanted the person in the painting to be a universal person, because it can be anyone, that’s why it remains a little abstract. This wall was a great challenge for me. I have never done such a complex, detailed wall of this size before.” 

Also as usual, VESOD painted a breathtaking mural called “Medea”. The work is dedicated to the myth of Medea and can be found in the historical Sololaki district.
“The painting is inspired by the figure of Medea and her myth which is said to be set in Georgia. The scene portrays the moment in which she prepares the potion for Jason. Compared to the painting by John William Waterhouse from which she draws inspiration is Medea, placed in a predominant position, the main figure, who, in an almost maternal way, provides the Greek hero with the opportunity to realize his ambition.” – Vesod

ARTEZ decided to focus on growth, calling his mural just that, “Growth”.As explained by the artist:
“On this wall I have decided to play with repetition and scale in order to create a narrative about growth. Taking care of things together is important as it will strengthen the bonds with people that are close to us. Trust the seeds you are planting and you will grow inside out!” – ARTEZ
David Machavariani collaborated with Irakli Kadeishvili dedicating their mural to the famous medieval poet Shota Rustaveli with focus on king Rostevan and his female heir Tinatin, echoing the gender equality theme.  Machavariani created the sketch based on the poem “The Night in the Panter’s skin” while Kadeishvili transferred his idea to the wall. Here is the result:
Luis Gomez de Teran created also an stunning mural portraying a woman with a melancholic look. In his statement, the artist wrote:
 
“Lies: false statements made with deliberate intention to deceive, an intentional untruth, imposture.
Sounds pretty bad, and yet lying is one of the most recurrent acts in human interactions.
How often do I lie? If I think about it, the honest conclusion is that I lie a lot, probably on a daily basis.
Honesty: a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtuous attributes, including being trustworthy, loyal and fair. Honesty is the best policy” – (Edwin Sandy).

Gomez de Teran also created an installation on an abandoned water tank titled “Unauthorized installation in an abandoned spaceship – Tbilisi, Georgia – Autumn 3022” for which he wrote:

“What’s left of my atoms
how much of me survived,
since the day I collided
to this long sleepless night

Take me away from this oxygen
like water for iron, I slowly realised,
one more breath, one more drop
a red soul never dries.

Bring me back to my planet
where this sun doesn’t shine.
On your wrecked silver spaceship,
can you still make it fly?

Bring me back to my star
gone since a thousand years.
You keep watching a light
that has long disappeared.”  

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Mohamed l’Ghacham titled his mural Ilia’s room, depicting the living room of the famous Georgian thinker and author Ilia Chavchavadze  a Georgian public figure, journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism during the second half of the 19th century and ensured the survival of the Georgian language, literature, and culture during the last decades of Tsarist rule. He is Georgia’s “most universally revered hero” and is regarded as the “Father of the Nation.”

KERA and Tina Chertova went for two blue creations. KERA in his characteristic abstract approach while Chertov’s mural draws inspiration from Georgian traditional ornaments composing a  Georgian blue tablecloth like patterns that she spread on the wall.  

 

Photo credits by @tbilisimuralfest