Title: Georgian Pavilion: Any-Medium-Whatever

Artist: Tamara Kvesitadze

Curator: Henk Slager

Venue: Palazzo Pisani S. Marina

Simultaneously seductive and disturbing, the undulating forms employed by Tamara Kvesitadze in Any-Medium-Whatever allude to some of the most oppressive methods utilised by humans in their struggle to inhabit the earth. Yet Kvesitadze’s social agenda is not expressed explosively, or as a militant call-to-arms screeching out at the viewer. Instead, it is her sedate methodology that lends this exhibition its poignant impact, as by illuminating the darker elements of human nature and positing a feasible alternative, Kvesitadze manages to communicate important insights to the viewer both aesthetically and conceptually.

Having already exhibited at the Venice Biennale in a 2007 group show, this solo exhibit has offered Kvesitadze the opportunity to revisit her concerns on a larger scale. But while admitting that her focus on the aesthetic has slackened (a primary factor guiding her self-confessed “romantic” exhibit Man/Woman back in 2007), it is clear that the visual still plays an important role in imparting Kvesitadze’s conceptual intentions to the viewer.

Any-Medium-Whatever features five works that consider the past, present or future consequences of human territorialisation, and our interactions as a species. It also begins with the end: Untitled, a sculptural-yet-painterly image of the debris left lingering once life has passed away provides a striking opening, with appliqué objects appearing to bleed back into their support, as the connections between them slowly erase. But Untitled also shares the space with the mechanical gestures of F=-F, which dictates the atmosphere of the area and inflects upon our reading of the artwork, preventing it being considered in isolation as an aesthetic object. Untitled is, according to the curator Henk Slager, a “conceptual anchorpoint”, both a history and a future, related to the struggles for territorialisation occurring elsewhere in the exhibition.

From consequence, one progresses to cause. A paragon of rigidity, formula, of change without real change, F=-F is a mesmerising exercise in vision, both inviting one’s gaze and forcing our rejection of it in disgust. On first glance the installation appears simple, as the sleek white masks bend to and fro betraying little of the complex machinations controlling them - until one hears the gently audible sounds of machinery, or views it from the side. But within the repeated motion of these generic masks, this regimented grid format effectively draws attention to the selfish, threatening and above all pointless modes by which humans clamour to occupy space to the detriment of others. This political message, enhanced by the machine’s control and the militaristic organisation of the aesthetic is however balanced by a personal one – something Kvesitadze is keen to emphasise. And it is indeed more by allusion to ourselves, through the potential to relate these generic forms to daily interaction that this work achieves its impact, in conjunction with the simultaneous beauty and repulsion of this oscillating object.

However, if one still struggles with the message Kvesitadze wishes to express, one may find the answershanging in the dark shadows behind F=-F, as Sphere places the present state of human territorialisation in lucid perspective. Deceptively static, a closer look reveals that this work also expresses the momentum of change and mutation, while also revealing the absurdity of the temporary change in the balance of power. Featuring once more the blank faces, crowded onto a sphere reminiscent of earth, these forms push in and out in fluid motion, recalling the controlled regularity of F=-F. But here the urgency of Kvesitadze’s message becomes more intense, as the pressure of human interactions are displayed more tangibly, as the weight of the sphere bears down on the swelling faces. Furthermore, the decision to conceal the mechanics involved manage to make the viewer more subtly aware of the distorting, disturbing and quite sinister effects one person’s struggle for territory can have on those around them. And it is through this simplicity, and the universal nature of the generalised, idealised forms, that the message Kvesitadze wishes to impart – for people to consider their effect upon others, and to strive for more equal interaction – is emotively expressed to the viewer.

Yet as the title suggests, these concepts may be expressed in multiple ways, and the final static works of this exhibition also contribute to Kvesitadze’s social agenda. Disappearance once again features the generic masks, allowing it to retain congruity with the other works. But in representing the figures fading equally into oblivion, this time in a static fashion, Kvesitadze reinforces the idea that no matter how hard one strives for dominance, with the passing of time each will disappear in equal fashion.

The final work Relationship dominates the outside courtyard, and while extending the scope of the preceding works, it is also far removed from them both aesthetically and conceptually. Light layers combined with a totemic verticality provides a liberation from the soulless mutation of Sphere or F=-F, which continue to mutate without achieving equality or sustainability. Relationship is an ideal, representing a balanced vision of humanity that is not concerned with reducing the ‘other’ in order to expand, but strives to coexist harmoniously. By providing this alternative scenario, Kvesitadze manages to summarise the messages prevalent in this exhibition, whilst still maintaining the balance of attractive aesthetic and significant, meaningful expression.

Kvesitadze is deeply invested in her project, utilising here what she considers the positive platform of the Biennale to pursue a social agenda that is easily accessible to the viewer. And it is also clear that she consistently balances her political considerations with the personal pain that first inspired her to create these works. While she declares that in art “you can be a revolutionary”, it is just as important for Kvesitadze that the ideas be expressed with subtlety and deliberation, adding that this method “could perhaps bring more results than a demonstration”.

And it is clearly this unwillingness to be abrasive or militant in her pursuit of a social agenda that makes these works so effective at highlighting the means by which we reduce and affect others. By her reliance on simple (and often beautiful) aesthetic forms, combined with the at-times visible and audible mechanical processes, we become startlingly aware of the sinister processes we utilise, and which have negative effects on others. Kvesitadze makes it clear that too often one person’s success is to the detriment of others, and by the hopeful message of Relationship forces a rethink of our oblivious natures. While the simplicity of this final work is based on an idealistic vision of equality that many may wish to view as outdated, this counterpoint to F=-F and Sphere is necessary to providing us with the final impetus for change, and is an alternative that should be embraced.

Any-Medium-Whatever does not need to resort to short-lived shock tactics in order to express its poignant message. Here the works are presented without fuss or exclamation, and this subtle staging is undoubtedly what lends this exhibition its lasting resonance – probably the most important factor that will provoke us to change.

Jen Owen