OUTDOOR EXHIBITION
Outdoor installations could be found throughout the location of the Biennial, along the main infrastructural axis of the Gldani neighborhood. The context and background for this outdoor exhibition was Georgia’s contemporary socio-cultural situation: the installations were literally foregrounded against a backdrop of contemporary Georgia. Installations took shape within the yard of the brick-building, in two identical courtyards located along the Gldani axis, on pedestrian bridges connecting courtyards, in a Soviet-era playground and on the front patio of the bridge building.
The exhibition featured the work of more than fifteen architects, artists and artistic groups from around the world. Each Installation was an independent exhibition, developing its own idea around the biennial theme “Buildings Are Not Enough”. Projects were focused on research, visual and conceptual references on informal architecture, and the special context of Gldani.
Part of works exhibited had been chosen from entrants to the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial Open Call, selected by the jury; David Avalishvili, Irina Dikhaminjia, Irina Popiashvili; the Obscura curator team, Mariam Loria, Mariam Tsikaridze and co-founder of the Biennial Gigi Shukakidze.
Winners of the contest were: A-M-A _ Anti Material Architecture (Switzerland), which presented an Informal Monument created with reused, demolished materials. Standing in the courtyard, the monument works as a connection between the courtyard, bridges and streets.
Babau Bureau (Italy) presented an installation and performances in the second courtyard. Adrian Judt and Helene Schauer (Austria) presented their pavilion “To Be Constructed”, built with construction materials which were then made available for resident of Gldani to take and use for their own informal constructions. Giorgi Vardiashvili’s (Georgia) ‘Urban Monument’ focused on the contemporary dilemma between nature, recreational zones, and infinite constructions.
The Outdoor Exhibition also included installations and pavilions built by invited artists. These works were also created exclusively for the biennial, and focus on the main theme, discussing the topic from different angles.
The XOPA-pavilion was built around the history of a traditional informal structure in Georgia, named the ‘khukhula’. The pavillion was a multifunctional, self-made construction inside which the group of architects presented their research about such structures. Reijiro Wada’s work, ‘Scarlet Window’ plays with Georgia’s turbulent history. Through this installation, constructed inside a typical Gldani highrise flat, created an informal layer, allowing the viewer to see the cityscape of Gldani through a filter of wine.
Alexander Brodsky created a pavilion on the rooftop of the bridge building. Around the same building Onur Ceritoglu’s constructed a work called ‘the Island’ with student groups and local woodworkers. Maria Kremer and Joanna Zabielska responded to the lively context of the district. Zabielska prepared an installation with local people in one of the playgrounds, while Kremer built a small shelter for homeless people. The group Copy Paste constructed an installation next to the KGB building.
Medium presented an open pavilion for social interaction and a venue for biennial activities. Stefan Rusu installed a replica of the entrance into a socialist apartment building from the 1970s in Gldani. Soso Alavidze (Georgia), Nika Kutateladze (Georgia) and Lado Lomitashvili (Georgia) created collateral exhibitions in other suburbs of Tbilisi, allowing the Biennial’s guests to see the whole picture of the city, not just the Gldani neighborhood.
The Outdoor Exhibition was curated by the co-founder of the biennial Gigi Shukakidze, Obscura’s curator-team: Mariam Loria, Mariam Tsikaridze and curators from Propaganda.Network: Anna Gabelaia, Elene Pasuri.
Participants:
Soso Alavidze
AMA (Anti-Material-Architecture)
Alexander Brodsky
Babau Bureau
Onur Ceritoglu
CopyPaste
Adrian Judt + Helene Schauer
Nika Kutateladze
Maria Kremer
Lado Lomitashvili
Medium
Dmytro Prutkin
Stefan Rusu
Radio ARCADA
Giorgi Vardiashvili
Reijiro Wada
XOPA
Joanna Zabielska