Yesterday, on 2 March, BIS ART GALLERY opened a new exhibition «Awakening».
Every time winter comes to an end, we eagerly count down the days until the beginning of spring on the calendar. On the first of March the snow will not magically disappear and the cold will not end, but this date is an important psychological threshold for us.
Since ancient times, man has been waiting for the spring to come, when nature will awaken and the mother earth will give a harvest. The word «awakening «carries a positive impulse. This exhibition shows how different awakening can be.The worship of the fertility of the earth can be found in the mythology of many peoples. The ancient Greeks explain the change of seasons in the myth of the abduction of Persephone by Hades. After all, only when Persephone comes out of the realm of the dead, the goddess of fertility Demeter comes to her senses and the earth begins to bear fruit.
Asia Bagaeva’s painting The Earth symbolizes the awakening of physical life on the planet, as an entry into the phase of existence. This is the source of everything that currently exists around us and humanity. The Earth is a mother, a nurse, a seed of life, which originated many millions of years ago. In March, the vernal equinox is celebrated, which is the starting point for the renewal of the life cycle. The work Depths of Earth only emphasizes the artist’s admiration for the incredible richness of our soil. Both of Asia’s works radiate peace and stillness, like the earth itself, as the most calm and stable of the elements.
The work of Teona Yamanidze Forest is a natural awakening of the world around us. Bare trees, worn out by winter frosts, are reviving on the eve of warmth and new life. The technique of the artist creates the impression of «ripped out» pieces of material that fill the entire lower part of the work. T.S. Eliot, in his poem The Waste Land, as he considered Europe after the First World War, designated spring as the moment of returning to life: «April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land» The branches that grow towards the sun go beyond the picture, which sharply gives the feeling of how much a living organism seeks to leave the cold earth to the vivid warmth.
Two abstract works with the identical title Afternoon by Mamuka Didebashvili and Polina Zaremba exude the same sunlight and warmth, which is vital for the awakening of life on this earth. And Polina’s bright work Spring is Coming only intensifies this joyful expectation of a warm season. Polina’s expressive painting conveys not only the spring flavor of nature around, but also the state of mind of the author at the time of painting.
In the painting The Seasons by Maya Ramishvili: winter, spring, summer and autumn are presented as four female images — nymphs or naiads, who came from the world of dreams. Their delicate and flexible figures in weightless lace outfits, form a single pattern. Light lines and pastel colors of the work evoke only pleasant thoughts. The beauties in the picture are located in a circle, as if one follows the other, the girls' hands also create the shape of a continuous circle, which directly speaks of the smooth flow of time and draws a parallel between the constant change of seasons. Looking at these four characters, it is impossible to guess a particular time of year in a particular girl, because the cycle of time flows smoothly and imperceptibly, changing from one season to another, and each season has its own beauty.
Maria Skobeleva’s abstract paintings reflect the artist’s admiration for the power that nature has given to women: to bear and give birth to a new life. Whilst being pregnant, with the help of abstrat art Maria conveyed the expectation of a miracle and a sense of belonging to this global life cycle, programmed by nature. These paintings do not reflect just the moment of birth, the awakening of a new life, but also the awakening of a motherhood, which is a completely new edge in the evolution of the female personality.
The semantic field of the word «awakening «is quite extensive, and often when it is mentioned, a spiritual awakening or comprehension comes to mind. For example, the interpretation is positive, bright and unusual, as in Eureka, in the optical illusion of Marina Lizorkina. It could also be an epiphany after meditative practices, whether it is the transcendental experiences of Romanoz and the awakening of Kundalini in Vangranda’s work PepsiCo. The awakening of the Kundalini, more often represented in the form of a snake, gives the meditator a state of liberation, unity with all things and awareness of the true essence of things
However, spiritual awakening can be triggered by darker circumstances, as expressed in Surazica’s Apocalypse and The Revival.
Surazica’s Apocalypse can be viewed through the prism of Hindu beliefs. In Hindu doctrine, the age of the demon Kali-yuga is the last of the four global eras before the end of the world, which is characterized by the most terrible destruction and natural disasters. After the age of the demon Kali, the cycle is renewed and the world is reborn. In this case, the apocalypse is an opportunity for the revelation of great knowledge. Here the end of the world is a transitional state that is necessary for the renewal of the world, for its awakening. The main character, dressed in brass armor, may be the interpretation of an apocalyptic rider who delivers justice. The Apocalypse leads to the stage of rebirth, spiritual awakening and awareness.
The Revival can be viewed as a transformation of the mind, attitude, behavior, conveyed by figurative images and which provokes us to redefine the previous way of things. In the time of the new ethics, the English term «woke» may come to mind when referring to spiritual rebirth, but when creating the work, Surazitsa was inspired by the ancient ideas of eschatology, the doctrine of changing the world. In the painting, you can see the rebirth from the depths of the sea, crossed with a fiery flame. It is an allegory of a new world, a new way of thinking, a spiritual rebirth of the human being. As in other works of Surazica, The Revival literally consists of a pile of characters. In the character with the fish head, you can read the eternal aggressor, who imagines himself the conqueror of flora and fauna. However, the comical costume of the wrestler indicates that he is just a parody of something significant, just a circus character. The head from which the rays come, means exactly the same illumination, the awakening of consciousness, which will inspire us to create a new world.
Of course, in the exhibition, awakening is also shown in the most prosaic meaning, in the physical awakening of the body after sleep, a natural process of all living organisms. For example, Morning by Maya Ramishvili is the perfect illustration of a physical awakening. This is a languid bliss in bed in the early morning, when the first roosters sound in the distant background. This is a Proustian disorientation, when «I didn’t know where I was, and at first I didn’t understand who I was» The picture conveys complete peace and serenity under the first lights of the sun, when a wonderful day is waiting ahead.
