ALISA YOFFE - WAR CRIMES

My first trip to Georgia took place in 2018 during the "rave-action" held next to the Parliament building. I was excited by the form and attitude of the youth movement that aimed at protecting of its own rights. We, in Russia did not have the opportunity to freely express our political views. In February 2022, after the invasion of the Russian troops into Ukraine I left Moscow in a protest and relocated to Tbilisi together with my mother. We have been living here for six months now. I talk a lot with the residents of the city, who often tell me about the history of Russian occupation in Georgia. Almost everyone I talk to about Russia tells me about the terrible crimes Russia committed during the war in Abkhazia. Therefore, in my new works, I shifted the focus from the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine to the war crimes occurred in Georgia, specifically in Abkhazia.

"I would like to add that this movement for independence is irreversible. The arrow was shot more than thousand years ago, and its flight continues. No one can stop it. We, Georgians, have been fighting for our independence for thousand years. However, we should enrich this fight with progressive and liberal thought. Its goal is a free, prosperous, and modern Georgia. Of course, this should happen together with Ossetia and Abkhazia... A mysterious, mystical unity of different regions shapes the living body of Georgia. An Italian never forgets that he is originally from Bologna, Venice or Genova, but Italy continues to exist. In this terms Georgia is similar to it."

Conversation with Merab Mamardashvili (Esprit magazine, # 179, February 1992.)

The exhibition presents a series of four works dedicated to this topic (canvas, acrylic, 320x148 cm).

Rhythmically arranged black lines, combination of standing and lying figures and the spots representing human heads create minimalistic compositions. Design of the central image is constructed in a way that from a long distance numerous lines and the central spots resembling the heads are perceived as an image of a crucifixion.

I hope that the exhibition will turn into a trigger for discussing the urgent issues of cultural field related to Russia's presence in Georgia and its imperial policy towards the former allied republics.

Alisa Yoffe