Worker 02.2021 Laura - Sabcho Square 80 year old Laura supports herself by collecting bottles and recycled paper. About 8 years ago she sheltered a person who against his will was forced out of his home because an investor was interested in it. To salvage his belongings Laura allowed him to bring his things and store them on her balcony that she shares with neighbours. Years have passed and accumulation of these belongings in the shared space escalated in conflict with the neighbours, who are demanding to clear up the space on the balcony.The performer helps Laura to discard certain things from the balcony and tightly organise the rest.
Worker 01.2021 Tskaltubo For several months now, continuous protests have been going on near Tskaltubo, in the village of Zhoneti, against the construction of a hydropower cascade. The investor, introduced by the government as a savior who would help to achieve energy independence of the region, is doing everything with the logic of unprofitable profit. Residents are trying to protect their property, ecosystem and nearby villages from dangerous construction in landslide-prone areas. The rallies in the village of Zhoneti have become a new form of public protest. The Worker is replacing one of the protesters during the overnight shift.
Andro Dadiani’s “Worker” is a series of performances commissioned by Kuntshalle Tbilisi. With these series the performer attempts to redefine role of an artist in our society. Traditionally artist was viewed as someone who’s serving higher ideals. In Georgia for the large part of the last century artists catered to an ideology of a ruling party. Similarly current political parties are using art to support their governing power. “Worker” performances aim to alter this perception and reveal that art is neither an act of entertainment nor the object of aesthetic pleasure. Performer declares his work to be an ordinary job. What connects these series of geographically, socially and economically distanced performances is the artist’s medium- routine work. The reality depicted through this medium is an attempt to create social portraits that in turn offer us a new artistic language dictated by cultural crisis, as well as, a space for discussion.
Worker 12. 2020 Afrika On December 15th, 2020 during the pandemic lockdown, in Tbilisi outskirt called Afrika, illegitimately built small settlement on the territory of the former garbage dump was torn down following the orders of the city municipality. The performer is trying to salvage parts of rubble by cleaning, putting aside, stacking and wrapping the building blocks that remained after state’s forceful actions.