Art without borders

Georgian goldsmith Gotscha Lagidze is one of those artists who believe that art does not have borders.

By Nino Kopaleishvili

Having worked on traditional Georgian weapons and armor since he was a teenager, Lagidze reproduced a suit of armor that belonged to Prince Maurits of Nassau in 1998 for the Delft Royal Netherlands Army and Arms Museum.

Calling it his “favorite work,” Lagidze keeps another masterpiece of Prince Maurits at his delightful Dutch-style house in Roosendaal, in the south of the Netherlands.

Lagidze has been living in the Netherlands since 1994 with his wife Lela and three children Giorgi, 17, Lasha, 15, and Sophia, 9.

Lagidze has been cooperating with different museums in the Netherlands over the years and in 2003 he made a reproduction of the chain mail of Jan van Schaffelaar, Holland’s national hero from the 15th century.

“The work on it continued for three-four years. To help raise funds, it was decided to make the armor in the style that St. George dressed. It was important not to violate historical rules,” he states.

In 1999 Lagidze received first prize at the international forum in Luxembourg for modern art in steel. “I took my miniature to the forum before it was completed. The event was really important,” he said.

In addition to working on different projects Lagidze also teaches at Amsterdam State University. However, he admits there are not many students who are interested in work on steel, mainly for commercial reasons.

“Such things are difficult to do and this art is disappearing gradually,” he says. “But it is such an intellectual discipline.”

Now he plans to try his hand in other fields more available to public. “Now I am designing street lamps which are for the public. The first ten copies will be produced soon,” he says.

Chain mail of the famous Georgian King

Earlier this year, Lagidze received an offer from the Georgian playwright Dato Turashvili to design chain mail for a film about Georgia’s famous king Davit Aghmashenebeli.

“Probably I will travel to Tbilisi. It is important to do it in Tbilisi,” he says. “The chain mail of Davit Aghmashenebeli is not on a fresco. That is why I want to do it not only for the movie, but for a museum.”

His love for designing old war equipment exists hand in hand with his love of Georgian history. He was particularly interested in Khevsurian armor and often traveled to the region to study this equipment in the years 1985-88.

“Everything started from my teacher Juansher Jurkhadze, who taught me history,” he says.

“Once I had a knife that I made myself. He took it and said it was no good. The next day he presented me with a little sword,” he said.

Later, Lagidze happened to visit his teacher’s home and was amazed at the collection of old Georgian equipments.

“I decided to do steel chain mail and I did it ... probably this man got me on the right track,” he adds.

Looking back to his home country

“Georgia is my home country and nothing can change that,” says Lagidze, adding, however, that there are many things in Dutch society that he would like to see transferred to Georgia.

Lagidze and his family often watch Georgian television channels and search for news on the internet about Georgia. “I am sympathetically disposed to the events taking place in the country now. We are happy about all the good changes happening in my country,” he declares.

Lagidze, who participated in the two civil wars in the 1990s in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, says that the defeat was the final straw which drove him to leave the country.

“Defeat in Abkhazia was a great disappointment and this became one of the reasons why I left Georgia,” he says.

“In my opinion there was certainly a mistake as this should not have happened but I do not know how it started.”

Several months ago, Lagidze, who is now a citizen of the Netherlands, applied for dual citizenship and hopes to become a citizen of Georgia again.
“I really want to get it, but I am trying not to think what the answer will be,” he said.