RA008 Chiatura: Landscape Research, Analysis, Interpretation, and Design
Location: Chiatura, Georgia
Site Location: Chiatura, Georgia
Exhibition:
1st Tbilisi Triennial: Offside Effect. Center for Contemporary Art, Tbilisi, October 2012
Publication:
Ground Up Journal: Grit Issue
Metropolis M Books: Offside Effect
The upper elevations of the Kvirila gorge have been the site of manganese mining for over 100 years. Mills in the gorge process the ore and transport it to plants in Zestaponi via railcars. Black sediments from mining operations contaminate the Krivila River downstream of Chiatura. Currently, half of the operations along the river are in ruins, consisting of black ore drifts and crumbling concrete piles. The site has two systems of ropeways: one for ore transportation and the other for people.
During the first phase of the workshop, participants explored the region and created artworks interpreting the stratification of land use and social spaces based on elevation. These works were exhibited at the First Tbilisi Triennale. The second phase focused on the materials of the site, such as ore and grit, which define the aesthetic character of Chiatura. The third phase aimed to synthesize the previous analytical phases into a design proposal for a remediation program for the city and the Kvirila gorge.
On the first day of the workshop, each participant was assigned to a sabagiro, or gondola, to travel from the river bottom to the upper elevations. They sketched and slowly returned to the guest house in a situationist "derive". The participants then shared stories and vignettes about the landscape to build their collective knowledge of the site. The next day, participants defined landscape terms verbally and with illustrations or photographs from Chiatura, creating a site-specific language for the project. After a few days, a core group of four students remained to revisit certain sites for further sketching and study.
"We Come in Peace" is the installation at Europe House that interprets a series of "social and ecological incidents" that occurred during the workshop at different elevations within the gorge. The participants sought to capture the spatial, social, and psychological implications of how sabagiro travel within the topography of the city, creating an idiosyncratic vertical urbanism.
During the second phase, participants investigated three sites in Chiatura: a concrete plant in Darkveti, an abandoned ore-washing plant, and the Itkhvisi-Zodi ropeway. They explored ideas of physical and metaphoric grit filtration, catchment, and processing. The second day, they created drawings interpreting the sites, representing soils, mining surplus, vegetation, architectural and industrial artifacts, and water in their visual vocabulary. These reference points guide aesthetic and material decision-making for continued projects in Chiatura.