Swiss Photographer Shows 1993 Tbilisi Through His Photos

After receiving the Atelia Mondial IAAB scholarship grant, Swiss photographer DANIEL Spehr decided to visit Tbilisi, Georgia in 1993 for a photography project.  The Atelia Mondial IAAB grant allowed artists travel the world to work on their projects, and Spehr was lucky enough to be granted this for his project.  Knowing that 1993 was a tumultuous time in Georgia’s history due to war and intense poverty, Spehr was intrigued and wanted to use photography to show the lives’ of Georgia’s people.    

Last year, Spehr posted the photographs he took in 1993 on his Facebook page.  When Georgians saw the significant photos, they rejoiced and shared them on their own social media accounts.  

Spehr recalls his trip to Georgia as a unique one.  At the time, the state of Georgia was far different than that of the European countries.  He remembers how the electricity constantly went out, bread was scarce, guns would fire all the time, and the people at times lacked hope.  

When the photographer trekked back to Tbilisi in 2018, he felt that the country had improved but he emphasized that Georgia still has work to do do.  Spehr feels that the photographs he took deserve to go back to Georgia and be preserved by Tbilisi somehow.  Maybe they can serve as a step in the county’s ongoing growth and development since that uncertain time in 1993. 

By Shirin Mahdavi