Berlin gallery highlights Vajiko Chachkhiani in personal display

A personal exhibition of Georgian artist Vajiko Chachkhiani will explore subjects of personal liberation and the effects of private and public space over consciousness at Berlin's Daniel Marzona art gallery starting today.

The celebrated contemporary artist will go under the spotlight of the German capital's venue with the display titled Summer which was not there.

Bringing together varying forms of media, Chachkhiani will present his "most ambitious” film work, an installation and a video production to convey the theme of the exhibition.

A still from a new film work by Chachkhiani, exhibited at the Berlin venue. Photo: Daniel Marzona gallery.

Curators of the gallery said the artist’s film project — seen as the centrepiece of the event — could "be seen as a metaphor for the liberation of an individual from his or her own history”.

In the film, a man watches a monumental concrete sculpture of a man being hoisted out of the sea. The sculpture is clearly reminiscent of a classic heroic monument but in a strange, and somewhat uncanny way, the face and figure of the sculpture look amazingly like the man who's watching it rise out of the sea”, said their summary of the film.

The presented artwork serves to raise questions on relationship "between historical and political circumstances” as well as their influence over an individual’s psychology.

Curators of the display said it would seek to explore effects of political and historical events on human consciousness. Photo: Daniel Marzona gallery.

The contemporary creator will also present a wall installation featuring "candles collected from Georgian provincial cafes”, with the pieces burning from both ends to "form an abstract wall sculpture”, as described by hosts of the event.

A series of art pieces formed using moss-covered stones and rock-splitting tools will also take up the space of the venue. In addition, a video "filmed twenty times slower than real time” will work to convey "the fragility of the human psyche”.

Born in Tbilisi, Vajiko Chachkhiani is currently based in Berlin for his artistic work.

The artist is a graduate of the German capital’s University of Arts as well as Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is a recipient of the prestigious Rubens Promotional Award of the Contemporary Art Museum Siegen.

Candle pieces collected from "provincial cafes" in Georgia will form part of the exhibits. Photo: Daniel Marzona gallery.

Chachkhiani is currently on display within the show WAITING — Between Power and Possibility at the Hamburger Kunsthalle art museum in Germany. He has also been selected to represent Georgia at the 2017 Venice Art Biennial in Italy from May 13-November 26.

In addition, the contemporary creator has been shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize by the Ukraine-based Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

The exhibition Summer which was not there will be Chachkhiani’s second personal display at the Daniel Marzona gallery.

The event will run through April 15.