Velvet Armor

Space K Senior Curator Janguk Lee

 

 

Homeland of gods and wine – Georgia. Located on the South of Caucasus mountains, Georgia has been the backdrop of Greek mythology and the Bible. Here, Prometheus, who gave fire to humankind, endured punishment (Kazbegi) and the hero Jason came to search for the Golden Fleece. It was also a place under the influence of Zoroastrianism that flourished around neighbouring countries rich in natural gas (Azerbaijan, Iran), but accepted Christianity even earlier than Rome. Georgia, where Christian culture in the north and Islam culture in the south intersect, finds itself at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, with the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea on its border. As the world powers battled for dominance to obtain this crossroads of civilization, this land belonged to the Persian culture and was also under the influence of Islamic civilization and the Mongol Empire. A land once homeland to Stalin, the General Secretary and Marshal of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and yet chose to forsake the Russian-influenced name Gruzija in favor of Georgia as its identity. Despite enduring numerous invasions and periods of domination, Georgia remained steadfast in preserving its own language and folklore, making it a condensed embodiment of world history and civilization. Rusudan Khizanishvili, an artist born and raised in this nation, presents a distinctive realm that transcends the truth of sacred religion and the reality of the secular world.

 

Female figures frequently appear in Rusudan’s works. Influenced by the grandeur of Greek and Roman goddesses as well as the inspiring legacy of women like Queen Tamar, who led the Golden Age of Georgia, her paintings offer a window into a realm of feminine focus world. Most of them wear wild attire, akin to mythical or dreamlike characters. <The Shell> evokes the Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. Shell is a haven for the woman in the painting, and also an armor that protects her, while reminding a womb, the source of life. In <Pheasant Farm>, a naked woman is surrounded by male pheasants. In the background, faces that seem to have just bloomed from buds appear. It reminds the Georgian Golden Age and matrilineal society, which was most powerful at the time of the queen’s accession. <The Armor> shows the women dressing up a female figure showing her fragile skin under the moonlight with clothing resembling nature itself. It is the rapid adaptation and affinity that protects oneself from the fast-changing environment. Softness often surpasses hardness. Gentle water wears away the rock and soft reeds withstand the fierce winds. Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia was named gentle velvet for its non-violent demonstration that resulted in the transition of power. Accepting the new environment and embracing it. That is the ability that sustained Georgians even after a long period of invasions. The allure of Georgia’s popularity as a great tourist destination must be not only its majestic natural scenery but also the warm hospitality of its people, who readily open their doors to strangers and share wine with newfound friends. This practice Amor Fati, loving and embracing the fate given to one rather than worrying about the uncertain future, is deeply ingrained in Georgian culture. The armor created by the harmony for the given environment is depicted in <The Ring Armor and the Star> and <The Touch>.

 

Balance is the thread that weaves our daily existence together. Work and rest, individuals and society, ideals and reality – everything needs a balance. Three women appear in <Balancing>, which reminds the three sisters, the Fates (Moirai), in Greek mythology or the Norn in Germanic mythology, who guard the well Urðarbrunnr. 3 is the first number that can be attached to the word ‘all’ and it signifies unity. It can mean Father-Son-Holy Spirit (Trinity), heaven-human-earth, birth-life-death, spirit-soul-body, and more. The image of these three goddesses often appears in Rusudan’s works. The image of two women’s heads connected like the threads of fate and holding a necklace in <Shining> seems to foretell the fate that will lead to the past-present-future. There is a painting within a painting in <Tiko aka Russian Doll>. History of matrilineal inheritance is unveiled here, where the legacy is passed on from a woman with her face not visible to a woman holding a necklace to a person sitting outside of a painting, turning her head away. This legacy will continue like a matryoshka doll.

Star appears frequently in Rusudan’s works. Some directly depicts the stars in the sky and some are represented as patterns. Among the stars in the sky, Venus and Moon are the most iconic representation of womanhood. The symbols that now distinguish men and women, ♀♂, originated as astronomical planetary symbols for Mars (♂) and Venus (♀). Venus is the brightest star after the moon and is often linked to Venus (Aphrodite) for its beauty. Astrologically, Virgo, along with Cancer, which is under the control of the moon, represents femininity. In Greek mythology, Cancer was sent by Hera, the goddess of marriage and birth, to confront Heracles. All of these were sometimes portrayed negatively within the male-dominated culture. A woman holding a crab appears in <The Necklace>, which also seems like a necklace or a shield that looks like a crab. A woman drawn in the body of a monkey hugs two figures in <Observatory>. A Sun and the moon are depicted on either side of what appears like an observatory or temple. There are holes on the floor, which makes it look like the surface of the moon, or even like a cave city Vardzia that was built by Queen Tamar to ward off the enemy’s invasion during the Georgia Golden Age. In Egyptian mythology, the moon god Thoth had manifestations as a baboon.

In <Black Horse Water>, a half-man half-beast stands in front of a moon-like mirror with a huge mountain range at its back. Black river flows beneath her and the sky is full of stars. Reminiscent of a nymph who stays in a river or valley to protect nature, this figure exudes feminine grace but has stag horns that symbolize masculinity, which also reminds Artemis, the goddess of the moon and the hunt. As if looking back at the past reflected in the mirror and making a resolution to move forward, this figure is holding a rose vine of earnest hope instead of the bow that Artemis carries. The mountain in the painting appears to be the mountain area in the Caucasus region, where similar terrain can be seen in <A Walker> as well. The title evokes the religious image of ‘man who walks on water’ or the history of Georgia, where the giants beyond the Caucasus came over the mountain and forcibly tied them up, as part of the Soviet Union (to conquer southern territories in order to gain access to a year-round port area).

Rusudan lost her father at the age of one and was raised by her mother, where she became the most important person to her. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia adopted a free market economy after gaining independence, but political and economic difficulties remained. In a place where patriarchal culture still remains strong in the aftermath of a long war, Rusudan has steadfastly pursued the path of an artist that she has dreamed of since childhood. On the one hand, leading her life without being immersed in the male-centered culture may be influenced by this environment. Her works develop diverse narratives influenced by mythology, history, philosophy, and literature of various countries. The humans, animals and plants coexist while crossing the boundaries of each other in her paintings. Through her unique photographic frame (close-up and cropping), murals from the primitive era, ancient epics including Greek mythology, Georgian and immigrant folklore and Christian iconography merge together in her painting to create a cinematic effect. The works and literature of the masters that influenced her cross the boundaries of fairy tales, history, dreams and reality, and Rusudan completes her distinctive magical realism in her paintings. Daughter of all the goddesses symbolized by life, care and healing, Rusudan, clad in velvet armor, crossed the Caucasus and the Black Sea to reach Seoul.