Original artwork description:

“This painting does not depict the Abkhazia that others see; it is the Abkhazia that I feel and perceive. My parents are refugees from Abkhazia, and I was born in Samegrelo, Zugdidi. Throughout my childhood, I often heard stories about Abkhazia from them, but the lingering memories of displacement and war have remained the most vivid. There is a small mountain in Abkhazia, near the Abkhazia-Samegrelo border, that was clearly visible from our new home in Zugdidi. From a distance, it seemed so close. As a child, they would tell me, ‘You see that mountain? That’s Abkhazia.’ At the time, I believed that this mountain represented all of Abkhazia, surrounded by the sea. Of course, this was all in my imagination.”
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The War in Abkhazia was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian government armed forces and North Caucasian militants between 1992 and 1993. Ethnic Georgians who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces.

Materials used:

Mixed media on linen canvas

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