The unfinished memorial known as the Lotkin Monument was built to mark the 800th anniversary of Shota Rustaveli. Architects Nodar Jobadze and Alexander Bakradze were working on the project, but they only managed to build forty meters of the main wall from their whole plan. While working on the project, a resolution was issued in the 1970s banning the construction of monuments, and the construction of the symbolic tomb of Shota Rustaveli was suspended. The area had not been registered for years until in 2017 the City Hall handed over the land to the United Federation of Georgian Mountaineers to build a public urban climbing wall. My objects mounted at this location replicate its updated function and act as holds for climbing made from fragmented visual shapes of a swan. The idea of the work and the related swan symbol – associated with equilibrium and poetry, have recently emerged through the interrelation of various personal stories and events. According to ancient myth, swans spend their lifetime silent and only sing when their death approaches. The metaphorical phrase - swan song, refers to the final gesture and the end of the story, although I associate the same symbolism, through the climbing holds, with a constantly updated process. While observing the climbing equipment, I noticed a sports company called Singing Rock, which adapted to the mood and circumstances of the work and became the common title. The functional climbing objects mounted on the 40-meter concrete wall were available for free public use.

The project was supported by Gallery 4710. 
I would also like to thank the members involved in the process - Guga Dabrundashvili (Board Member of the Mountaineering Federation), Ana Gurgenidze (Open Space), Tamusa Zarkua, and Rati Beradze.

Singing Rock, 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument

Singing Rock (installation view), 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument

Singing Rock, 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument

Singing Rock (detail), 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument

Singing Rock (aerial view), 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument

Singing Rock (climber in action), 2021

Singing Rock (sketch for swan-shaped climbing holds), 2021
Xerox print, spray paint, tracing paper
30 x 21 cm

artist book presentation, gallery 4710, 2021

Singing Rock (video documentation), 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument

Singing Rock (video documentation), 2021
Swan-Shaped Climbing Holds mounted on the urban climbing Lotkin Monument