‘The Revolution Is Just Around The Corner’
Marjolijn Dijkman
The Revolution is Just Around The Corner, 2006
During my stay in Tbilisi I conducted research on the transition of the street kiosk and the way people developed and fabricated displays to sell their goods on the street. The inventive and autonomous way of constructing the displays is part of the economic history of Georgia. There is an evolution of the displays from one piece of paper, a stick, a small table, self designed and developed inventive constructions into a standardized Coca-Cola kiosk. When the economy and regulations for selling goods are developing at the current speed, all the improvised and handmade displays will disappear out of the city within the next years. I decided to collect and preserve some examples of displays. Besides the sculptural quality of the objects, the displays might help in the future to understand how Georgia’s rebuilding has developed and where it all began. Like in most democracies, it literary started with a piece of paper and a stick…
After I visualized the evolution of the display in a series of drawing and photographs I decided to make a collection of the authentic displays. I encountered people with interesting and special displays to question whether it was possible to make a exact copy of their display if they would like to exchange their display for my copy. The exchange itself is an important moment in the process. The two exchanged displays and satisfied owners reveal bits about the complicated situation between the West and the rebuilding of Georgia at that moment. The owners from Tbilisi were amazed by the new standardized copy, and I from the Netherlands who’s totally fascinated by the character and authenticity of the old ones. There is a strong longing for the ‘West’ in Georgia and ‘the West’ is curious and fascinated by the Eastern countries. This exchange of ideologies and the aims of the rebuilding Georgia was an important point for discussion. These exchanged displays and a series of photographs of the actual exchange resulted in a presentation of ‘The revolution is just around the corner’.
