See Paris’ Louvre Museum under flooding in Tezi Gabunia’s new art project
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Themes of modern media news culture and recycling of artwork are at the centre of contemporary artist Tezi Gabunia’s stunning new group project that immerses France’s famed Louvre Museum into a flood.
The award-winning creative’s fresh work, which responds to a flooding in Paris earlier this year, places a fictional scenario of water entering the venue to gradually destroy the rich exhibits in its confines.
Reacting to the wider subject of climate change, Breaking News — Flooding of the Louvre brings the possibility of the natural disaster close to viewers to raise a multitude of themes.
The artwork presents a scoop, a situation, where the information as a show exceeds terrifying nature of catastrophe”, the artist noted in his preview.
Gabunia also seeks to highlight the idea of "cultural leftover” by utilising mockups from his earlier project Put Your Head into Gallery, only to destroy them with the "flooding”.
Recycling is the main value of the process. By destruction of [the mockups,] the leftovers are reconstructed and new meanings and possibilities are created”, says the summary for the project.
Expanding on the topic, Gabunia noted in his conversation with Agenda.ge how the theme of recycling was inspired by the way artwork is displayed at museum venues and galleries "indefinitely”, without being reused.
Intending to respond to a selection of themes, the project is centred around the topic of "cultural leftover”. Photo: mamasakhlisi, Kikalastudio.
Along with the concept from the author, the creation of Breaking News — Flooding of the Louvre also involved efforts from over a dozen Georgian and foreign artists and collectives.
These included Levan Amashukeli, Vajiko Aphrasidze, Temur Barbakadze, Andro Barbakadze, Andro Chkhaidze, Misho Sephiashvili, Vinda Folio, KinoFactory, Post Red Audio, Dato Koroshinadze, Nika Maisuradze, Mariam Nadareishvili, Oto Shengelia and Dato Tsanava.
The author of the project has also acknowledged Misho Antadze, Irakli Chkhikvadze, David Dolidze, Morta Griskeviciute, Temo Kartlelishvili, Vano Ksnelashvili and MUA for their participation in the work which has been supported by TBC.
A recipient of the 2016 Tsinandali Award for Young Scientists and Artists, Gabunia has also received critical acclaim from Designboom, the leading digital magazine of art and design.
Put Your Head into Gallery was named by judges of the magazine among the top 10 works submitted by its readers during 2016.