![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ae14340142c4d3326a35a1721a5cdc495352678271bd9acba4de6d2eec4fae97/Tsira-Simon-Chikovani-1-Nino-Biniashvili.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a2f4c1f18e25aef346286033bdee49495a9e8ca32393c424339451ec7c7405dc/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-2.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6557e7e0b8f5de3fa971e5d9136165aa1527acc59819244d21d684a7c92d95cd/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-6.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0accf05bf699d5af5347049d2b9465e3b682d58134018dccc892df965d6bc924/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-7.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ecc90fcdee3b1aac2a16896b2167954d700e50ad72b769a33f482fbb0700fff8/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-8.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6de9997dff7216714e8d71b03d50fb21a67470e0ab965c5e684c3fa3f40128b/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-3.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3a46f832fdf4ddd0e8504365091a0207f2c6a8f5d28b1602821f7338c4a4a2b1/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-10.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4362c7783d3de587c506b579bd40db2a3a31463726ef46d8547d357139f348b0/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-5.jpg)
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![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/77ec0ab64877ee98228d678d034d557111ab2251d16d575592b180d08bcb18ae/Tsira-Nino-Biniashvili-4.jpg)
Tsira
A series of ten illustrations based on Tsira, a poem by Simon Chikovani*
Tsira explores the relations between the whole and its fragments, and expresses the relationship between Georgian futurism and local folklore. The series of illustrations, each of which resembles a vulnerable and coverless open book, is set upon a black tin shelf that contrasts the soft fluidity of the drawings. Each illustration is made of a number of layers and materials, its base is a compilation of papers taken from old books and fixed to carbon paper using a “soft spine” which is made of reflective ribbon.
*Simon Chikovani, real name Simon Ivanovich Chikovani (b . Naesakovo 1902/3 - d. Tbilisi 1966) was a poet and the driving force and leader of the Dadaist group H2SO4 (1922-28). His poetry is a fusion of avant-garde and Georgian folklore, nonsense-syllables and rich assonance. One example is this fragment of the poem "Tsira" which reminds us of the propitiatory ritual of a witchdoctor. Chikovani incorporates dialecticisms and quotes from spoken Georgian, abstracting it towards the "enchantments" of a rhythmic, sonorous cadence, like these verses of the poem Tsira.
Tsira (fragment)
Bade baidebs
Bude baidebs
Tsira muxlebze gulpiltvs daidebs
Aida-baidebs, aida baidebs...
[transcription by Shota Iatashvili]
A series of ten illustrations based on Tsira, a poem by Simon Chikovani*
Tsira explores the relations between the whole and its fragments, and expresses the relationship between Georgian futurism and local folklore. The series of illustrations, each of which resembles a vulnerable and coverless open book, is set upon a black tin shelf that contrasts the soft fluidity of the drawings. Each illustration is made of a number of layers and materials, its base is a compilation of papers taken from old books and fixed to carbon paper using a “soft spine” which is made of reflective ribbon.
*Simon Chikovani, real name Simon Ivanovich Chikovani (b . Naesakovo 1902/3 - d. Tbilisi 1966) was a poet and the driving force and leader of the Dadaist group H2SO4 (1922-28). His poetry is a fusion of avant-garde and Georgian folklore, nonsense-syllables and rich assonance. One example is this fragment of the poem "Tsira" which reminds us of the propitiatory ritual of a witchdoctor. Chikovani incorporates dialecticisms and quotes from spoken Georgian, abstracting it towards the "enchantments" of a rhythmic, sonorous cadence, like these verses of the poem Tsira.
Tsira (fragment)
Bade baidebs
Bude baidebs
Tsira muxlebze gulpiltvs daidebs
Aida-baidebs, aida baidebs...
[transcription by Shota Iatashvili]