Ana Khundadze

Communal Playground

My installation - “Shah-Mattt" - "Checkmate" is a tongue-in-cheek observation of Vladimir Putin’s wild imperialist ambitions. As an artist from post-Soviet Georgia, I search into the artifacts of Soviet occupation with a blend of humor and critical inquiry. Through this multidimensional installation, I have constructed an environment, where water is flowing from a freshly emerged memorial water fountain, everything is very pink, sad and the ideological conformity is in the air.Central to "Shah-Mattt '' is an investigation of chess as soviet intellectual superiority. The concrete chess table serves as a tangible representation of this subject, prompting viewers to contemplate the strategic moves inherent in both the game and geopolitical power dynamics. Through humor and irony, "Shah-Mattt" provokes critical dialogue while addressing Georgia's past and present politics. This tongue-in-cheek interpretation and presentation style, which is part guerrilla and part white cube and part street protest, invites viewers to reconsider their understanding of chess, politics, and cultural identity in a post-Soviet context, fostering deeper engagement and reflection of the history that is repeating itself.