Lado Darakhvelidze
Feriköy Greek School

Born in 1977, Kutaisi. Lives in Arnhem.

Using painting, sculpture and installation, Lado Darakhvelidze traces power relations rooted in different hierarchical structures, such as public places and governmental, political or economic systems. Observing the social and cultural changes in Georgia, he reflects on post-communist Europe and its endless 'renewal' of history through erasing and rewriting. Like most of the post-socialist states, Georgia has been going through a period of so-called transition, evident in public spaces and in the demolishing, renovating and replacing of national symbols, buildings and monuments. Darakhvelidze comments on transformations taking place in the social field and public environment, and on practices that show the state's obsessive demand for a new and independent identity. In his long-term project New Georgian State Symbols (2004-2006) and recent public sculptures such as New State Symbols/Rubik's Cube (2008), Darakhvelidze invited people to contribute their ideas, and challenged their lack of engagement with political and cultural affairs and infrastructures.
The installation Ideal Media (2009) documents Darakhvelidze's research into media coverage of two events that started around the same time in August 2008: the Olympic games in Beijing, and the Georgian-Russian war. By monitoring these subjects through different media for a year, and creating an archive, he illustrates and reveals the ways in which events become 'news', and how subjects fade in and out of public attention through different media strategies. It reveals the constant presence of war, and the impossibility of demarcating its exact temporal boundaries in contemporary society.