TAMADA , 2022 - Second Drop - by Shalva NIkvashvili

TAMADA by Shalva Nikvashvili

A special ART BOOK published on the occasion of OPYUM 021 Video Performance Art Festival in Paris/France.

Shortly to describe background of “TAMADA” is iconic character famous as a leader of Georgian dinner parties, person who is hand picked because of his oratorical skills , toast making and huge tolerance with alcohol and last but not least : A PERFECT DICTATOR WHO DECIDES HOW MUCH TO DRINK OR WHAT TO SAY . Without his permission nothing can happen around the table . TAMADA appears on special occasions like : big birthdays , weddings, funerals, orthodox religious day celebrations.
“Because I grew up in a very traditional Georgian family it was not hard for me to dig into my memories and put together my view about traditions which are partly beautiful but also painful.”Shalva Nikvashvili

“Tamada in Georgian culture appeared a very long time ago. He was a handpicked person with skills of being extremely dominant, educated, with a big sense of humor and huge tolerance for alcohol." Shalva Nikvashvili
“A kind of perverted love letter to the motherland, examines the main signifiers of traditional, masculine culture with equal aggression and love and turns its central symbolism upside down.” Opyum team

Georgian-born, his art forms a constant commentary on the freedom we have to choose our own identities, using his masks to manifest memories, emotions and stereotypical aspects of society’s personality traits to turn them into their own characters. Made from unconventional materials such as raw meat, electrical cables, clothing, leather, hair and rocks, Nikvashvili’s masks are powerful and provocative.
"TAMADA" - 15:15min colored
Second Drop / Edition of 25 copies, 2022
23x19x2 cm
80pgs