Should I Stay or Should I Go

The installation is based on a journey undertaken by a group of artists through Georgia in 2023, specifically to Ozurgeti. It reflects their experiences and their encounters with the local population.

The installation is divided into two parts. On the one hand, there is a house representing the fusion of traditional Georgian and socialist architectural influences found in Ozurgeti, as well as the contemporary socio-economic situation. This is expressed through the collage-like construction of the building, which combines various visual and textual forms of information. The diversity of shapes and materials became a source of inspiration for the artists to create a dwelling characteristic of the region - the Gurian oda, a traditional wooden house of Guria.

On the other hand, the installation features a human figure standing on the roof of the house. This person is unable to decide whether to stay or leave, representing a broader dilemma that particularly affects younger generations in different regions of the country.

Should one stay under the influence of close family ties and social expectations, accept limitations in shaping one’s personal life, adapt to local routines, violent conflicts, and stagnation? Or should one take a step toward freedom and choose an uncertain but hopeful path - striving toward a European future that, with its economic opportunities, civil rights, freedom of the press, liberal values, material prosperity, and prospects for development, appears as a desirable alternative to the post-Soviet reality?

Night scene: A gentle breeze cools the humid heat. The bright bathroom light flickers, while the smell of mold lingers in the air. Frogs croak endlessly, yet they still cannot come to an agreement. In the streets, dogs bark and lie exhausted and unconscious by the roadside, worn out from the endless chase.

Authors: FZGG - Freizeitgruppe Gestaltung - www.freistalt.de (Markus Esche)

Video filming and editing: Data Inasaridze
Video music: Giorgi Bagnashvili