Take a trip into the ‘Cultural Forest’

“We were spiritual artists who became commercial under the beneficial influence of the Western art world,” jokes artist Gia Edzgveradze in reference to himself and fellow artists Tamara K.E and Maia Naveriani, three creatives who departed the former Soviet state of Georgia in search of the bright lights of the West during the late 80s. Splitting themselves up between Germany and the UK, the trio’s ties remained through Everything is All Right, a group of artists who saw themselves as ‘partisan’s’, whose aim was ‘going into an unknown territory and bringing back a report’. Reuinited for their latest exhibition Unwheeled, curated by David Lillington, the show is one of few London exhibitions to offer the threesomes’ work. Focusing on a mixture of everyday symbols, semiotics and imagery – collectively termed the ‘cultural forest’ which, Lillington defines as; “Everything we are bombarded with – internet, media images, TV, posters on the street. All the signs of culture need interpretation but in trying to do that, one feels lost in a forest.” Unwheeled is comprised of Edzgveradze’s collages dedicated to nineteenth-century romantic painter Friedrich, whilst Naveriani presents intricate pencil drawings from the six months she spent travelling around her Georgian homeland, and K.E explores sign-language and the concept of hidden communication – uncovering a silent conversation if you will. Their enduring connection? “They all mix abstract and figurative in a witty way in order to analyse something – culture, art history, daily life, politics,” Lillington riffs.

Unwheeled is currently on show at the Danielle Arnaud Gallery until 22 February 2015. Click here for more information