Irina Gabiani: Reflections

Video performances and video art created by Georgian artist Irina Gabiani were held at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia on September 3. The performances included 6 videos, which have never before been shown in Georgia. The performance, which also included some videos that have already been shown in Georgia, was followed by a further nine new videos, shot between 2008 and 2010. Some of the videos have been shown at international museums or art galleries, as well as in the National Cinema Museum and Velam Contemporary Art Centre in Torino, Italy. In her works Gabiani questions the connections and similarities between the human body and the universe. To prove and show that everything is interconnected she uses images of the human vein system that look just like the system of rivers on the earth’s surface or like trees with their branches. The universe gives us those similarities, we just need to look carefully to see and reveal them.

In another video the artist looks at the everyday surroundings of the familiar world. This is part of her identity, through the reflections which enable the artist to see in a wider perspective. The video ‘Take off your veil’ shows that humans are limited in their visions of reality. Things are often only partially seen, thus losing the total picture of reality. Life generates conflicts and misunderstandings; that is why the artist suggests taking off veil to avoid misunderstanding.

Irina Gabiani’s videos have traveled across the globe as part of many important festivals and been viewed in 18 countries. The audience enjoyed the show and congratulated he artist.

Irina Gabiani was born in Tbilisi, and graduated from the Tbilisi Academy of Art and Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Art, Amsterdam. She now lives and works in Luxemburg.