BRIOSI & CAVARA
Nino Goderidze (God Era)
Artist Nino Goderidze, who was invited to the library research project of the State Silk Museum “Texts as cultural treasures”, developed research on the parasitic fungi “BRIOSI & CAVARA”.
The subject of Nino Goderidze’s artistic research is parasitism and invasive species. A parasite is a species that feeds on a living organism and slowly kills it, while an invasive species threatens the Earth’s biodiversity with its aggressive reproduction and feeding. Today’s humanity, with its aggressive consumption patterns, reminds us of both harmful species. Capitalist consumer society, like invasive species, feeds intensively on the Earth’s biological resources and endangers all other species. Invasive species have propagated in the era of globalization, because as a result of human travel, some species have found themselves in situations where they no longer have a regulating predator. Consequently, it has been allowed to propagate unstoppably, while other species are on the brink of extinction. Society works similarly under conditions of wild capitalism, where corporations have no regulatory power. The multiplying the property and the unlimited use of the earth’s resources have become the norm. This process does not put any single living species at risk of extinction, but the biological diversity of the entire earth, which reminds us of the dynamics of the parasite’s actions.
In her artistic practices, Nino Goderidze assigns the function of a regulating predator to the feminist thought, which can regulate the unstoppable appetite of the capitalist patriarchal consciousness. In her works, the high-tech future is not a robotic world built on the remains of a dead, living organism (earth), but a symbiosis of man and nature. In the works of Nino Goderidze, it is revealed that the organism that feeds humanity, also benefits from humanity. This approach breaks the concept of parasitism and establishes a phase of symbiosis.
Based on “BRIOSI E CAVARA – FUNGHI PARASSITI DELLE PIANTE COLTIVATE OD UTILI”, parasitic fungi of cultivated or useful plants, in the process of research, the artist acquainted with the samples of cultivated plants, their anatomy and individual parasitic diseases, protected as a book in the library of the museum. Samples of dried and damaged plant (herbarium) attached to the collection of scientific publications became the main source of observation of the artist.
Artist’s Statement
“Researching the mycological concept and the centuries-old specimens associated with it led me to reconsider the idea of parasitism and harmful concept thereof. While realizing this, I tried to develop my own creative vision, the so-called symbiotic version. As my artistic practice includes working on fabric, the mentioned scientific material became an ideal metaphor for me, fungus that damages the plant, I conceptually associated with the fabric damage process. A moth is a fabric parasite familiar to all of us. Many medical drugs are designed to destroy it. Shifting my research into the symbiotic phase involves re-analysing fabric/clothing infected/eaten by moth. The footprint infected by moth on the fabric is a self-contained pattern that makes me think of fashion’s cycle and sustainability. I think fashion should engage in a symbiotic relationship with the environment. This work, inspired by the aesthetics of fungal parasites and plants, is a statement that we can retake and reuse damaged clothing to create new clothing, reducing waste and environmental impact. Like a parasite that evolves with its host, fashion can develop sustainable and responsible consumption trends.”
Artist’s Biography:
God Era – Nino Goderidze is a visual artist and a non-binary slow fashion brand known for sustainable and ethical fashion practices, experimenting with eco-materials and queer speculative fictions; recently featured in Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi.
