How a Georgian Artist’s Painting Ended up in Björk’s Hands
Legendary Icelandic musician and singer Björk paid a visit to Georgia this autumn for the first time and held two concerts at the Tbilisi Concert Hall and Opera in Tbilisi. The popular and one of the most highly-paid singers, in addition to performing in a floral crown designed by a Georgian designer, and enjoying Georgian bean soup lobio, upon departing took a painting by a young Georgian artist with her. The artwork depicts Björk from her video clip for the song Pagan Poetry, which is the second single from the album Vespertine released in 2001. As it turned out, the person behind the portrait of the well-known singer is Nino Paichadze, a young artist and a big fan of Björk’s music, who is best known for creating rare 3D style artworks.
Nino Paichadze is 24 years-old and lives in Tbilisi. She studied artistic woodwork and design at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. In parallel with creating art, the artist works as a creative director at the Japanese Language & Culture Center.
As a true lover of Björk’s music, Nino attended her concert at Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater and even managed to make her dream come true and present her artwork to the beloved musician.
GEORGIA TODAY contacted her to find out more.
“I painted Björk’s portrait in 2013. The main purpose of all my paintings where I portray famous singers and musicians, is that one day they will see my artworks and like them so much that decide to keep them. Even though I didn’t know whether I’d be able to give my artwork to Björk, I quickly got the special border-crossing documentation ready for the painting and took my one-meter wooden piece to the Tbilisi Opera. When I entered the building, I started searching for someone who could help me hand my present to the singer. At first I was told to approach administration, then the coulisses and finally I ended up at the room of the organizers of the event. I asked one of the staff members if it was possible to give my painting to the singer. They did not respond instantly and told me to leave my artwork and contact information. One of the organizers left the artwork along with the documentation in the room and told me that Björk’s manager personally saw it and was really impressed. As I was told, the manager had a look at the documentation and when realizing that everything was made in accordance, kept the artwork. The very next day, as agreed, I called the member of the organizational team and, as it turned out, Björk had taken the painting with her. What could be more pleasing than hearing that your favorite musician took your artwork?” Paichadze told us.
When artist heard the news, she was so excited that she instantly made it public on her social media account:
“Guys, I have very good news. The organizers of the SOU festival informed me that Björk took my painting with her!”
Nino’s artworks stand out for their individuality and performing technique called 3D Anaglyph that creates a three-dimensional effect.
“In order to see the artwork as a 3D object, one has to look through 3D glasses. These are the types of paintings that are firmly connected with music. Actually, I’m the only one doing it right now in Georgia,” the artist elaborated on her art.
The artist explained she has been drawing since she first took a pencil in hand. When she enrolled at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, she received 100% scholarship after passing the national exams successfully. After graduating, the artist was accepted by the New York Academy of Arts as a student in the Master of Fine Arts degree program, but unfortunately, she was not able to continue her studies, since she could not get funding in Georgia.
“Every human being who uses one’s potential and skills at best is like a god. We have the potential to invent, bring change and create everything from scratch, but because we do not fully realize it, we lose this opportunity and potential,” the young artist told us.
Lika Chigladze