Dinner with Parajanov
By Irina Kurtishvili
◇ 2 December 2023
Irina Kurtishvili explores Sergei Parajanov’s legacy and its contemporary relevance through her installation Dinner with Parajanov in the Studio of the Villa Empain’s artists’ residency.
On an oversized table, carefully selected antiques mingle with modern artefacts. Drinking horns, hand-painted bowls and Stakan glasses establish a dialogue with postcards, maps, books and albums reminiscent of Parajanov’s film sets. This symbolic encounter immerses us in the history of the Caucasus and the decline of the Soviet Union, where the Villa Empain becomes an emblematic reference point as former embassy of the USSR. Tableware thus becomes a symbol for the passage of time, the fleeting and the cyclical nature of culture.
