George Nebieridze, Untitled [Sashka and Tatuli Festival Morning] 2009. Image courtesy of the artist.
Everything and everyone in his photos is real: the colours, the people, the unexpected moments, the documentary storytelling. This makes the photos amusing,
interesting, sensitive and cool. George Nebieridze was born in 1990 in Tbilisi, Georgia and currently lives in Berlin.
SLEEK: In Georgia, the conservative Orthodox Church still exerts a great deal of influence. People also seem, unsurprisingly, to be living in fear of Putin’s Russia. Nevertheless, it appears that young people are standing up against these things with creativity, free-spiritedness, and pride. The LGBTQI community in Tbilisi, for example, has been defiant, last year rallying against an anti-Pride march organised by the far right. How do you feel about your generation?
George Nebieridze: I wouldn’t say this so-called ‘fear of Putin’ applies to the majority of Georgians. To the government? Yes, they are puppets of the Kremlin headed by [Georgian Dream], the party of former prime minister and oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. But other people, especially the youth, show less fear and obedience. Fighting – and resisting – for survival has always been in our blood. Our generation attempts to amplify and channel its power into changes. Anger is a gift when you’re young and queer.
George Nebieridze, Untitled [Bassiani Morning], 2018. Image courtesy of the artist.
LEFT George Nebieridze - Untitled [My Street Snowy Night] 2010 RIGHT George Nebieridze, Untitled [Former Technical Library Building] 2016. Images courtesy of the artist.
S: What moves you about this energy, where do you see yourself in it?
GN: I’m one of them, we are on a duty to riot, whether in Georgia or abroad. Most of us grew up in an immensely violent and homophobic country, experiencing discrimination daily. Therefore, it’s impossible for us to stay quiet and not be moved by this multi-generational injustice. My photographs shown here are taken during the last 15 years and can be seen as a chronicle of mental and cultural survival of a small bubble of young artists and creatives. For a very long time, we were a forgotten country, but things have been changing rapidly in recent years.
George Nebieridze, Untitled [Avto Ika Abandoned House Kiketi] 2010. Image courtesy of the artist.
S: Is Georgia an example of how a new generation is simultaneously embracing its history and taking it into its own?
GN: I should admit, when I started taking photographs, it was hard for me to embrace and be inspired by Georgian history and traditions. I had been trying to distance myself from my origins and nationality for a long time, but started appreciating it in later years after spending time away from home. There are many ways of embracing your background and history, the biggest failure is to deny or fight change which is a crucial inevitability of growth and development. So yes, it’s interesting how a country with such long history and ancient traditions juxtaposes itself with new ideas and innovative thinking.
LEFT George Nebieridze, Untitled [Bakhtrioni], 2018. RIGHT George Nebieridze, Untitled [Attitude, Papuna], 2011. Images courtesy of the artist.
S: What can the situation in Georgia teach us?
GN: From the angle of my work, I try to document subtle details of life with its small struggles and achievements. Westerners can learn a lot from us. Mostly, how some of us can still find a way to survive and thrive despite growing up in severely unfair circumstances. That really unites us all.
George Nebieridze, Untitled [Windowsill Kiss], 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.
George Nebieridze is a Georgian photographer in Berlin. He studied sociology and political science in Tbilisi and Berlin, and once dreamed of becoming an ambassador. His portraits of friends and bystanders capture the fleeting nature of life and the image.
As featured in SLEEK 73 – PASSION. Available in print or digital here.