Around the Studio furnishes apartment with protest-based furniture for Conspiracy Bar exhibition

Artists Tika Shelia and Ano Jishkariani have furnished an apartment with design objects based on recent political demonstrations that took place in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The Conspiracy Bar exhibition, which was supported by Kunsthalle Tbilisi, was held in a rented apartment in Tbilisi. It was created by Shelia and Jishkariani's interdisciplinary collective Around the Studio to evoke the imaginary home of a young protestor.

The artists filled the spaces with a collection of symbolic objects informed by memories of the protests, including lasers, whistles, riot fences and raincoats used to shield demonstrators from water cannons.

The show was prompted by the protests that took place in 2023 and 2024 following the Georgian government's enactment of controversial laws that have been condemned for undermining democracy and restricting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

The state's violent response to the demonstrations compelled Shelia and Jishkariani to develop Conspiracy Bar as a safe space to gather and engage in open dialogue, creative expression and collective reflection about the ongoing situation.

The exhibition's title refers to the Soviet-era term "conspiracy apartment", which described secret meeting places used for underground activities. Conspiracy Bar reflects the project's open, communal intention.

To create the impression of an intimate private space, the artists created objects such as a dressing table and floor standing mirror that are informed by items from their family homes.

By combining protest symbols with furniture, Shelia and Jishkariani sought to evoke the daily routines of the protestors, as well as highlighting how these conflicts shape personal and collective identities.

"Protests are often perceived as external and public events," the artists told Dezeen. "Yet they leave a lasting impact on individuals, influencing emotions, behaviours and surroundings."

"By transforming objects from demonstrations into domestic furniture, this work emphasises the lasting imprint of political struggles on daily life and how external conflicts shape individual and cultural narratives," the artists continued.

The objects displayed included the Riot Shield Screen, a stainless-steel dressing screen that mimics the metal shields used by police or the walls erected in Tbilisi to deter demonstrators.

The screen incorporates a small opening displaying a metal rose – a symbol of revolution established during the 2003 protest movement that brought an end to Soviet-era leadership in the country.

The Laser Lamp was informed by laboratory equipment and comprises various elements fixed to a vertical support. A laser housed in a box resembling a surveillance camera shines onto a bird sculpture.

The bird motif recurs in several of the objects, providing a delicate, poetic contrast to the rigid metal structures and their associations with division and protest.

The artists also produced a series of stainless-steel daybeds resembling police barricades. The stark, utilitarian structures were softened by padded blankets made with found fabrics.

Asked how the current political situation has impacted the design scene in Georgia, Shelia and Jishkariani said that some creatives have gone on strike in protest over the government's repression of art and design culture.

"The current climate is tense," they explained. "As many in the community see creative expression as inseparable from the fight for freedom."

"Despite these challenges, art and design remain powerful tools of resistance, reflecting the urgency of the moment and the desire for change," they continued.

The exhibition was held in October 2024 during the parliamentary election period in Georgia, providing a space for political discussion and creative collaboration at this time of heightened political tension.

The event was supported by the Kunsthalle Tbilisi, a roving exhibition space founded by Irena Popiashvili and Lika Chkuaseli that displays Georgian and international art in various locations across Tbilisi.

Over a period of six weeks, the apartment also hosted a programme of activities including film screenings, alternative music concerts and experimental theatre.

Shelia and Jishkariani founded Around the Studio in 2021 after meeting at VA[A]DS Free University of Tbilisi. The studio explores cultural, social and political themes through multidisciplinary projects that merge community engagement and collaboration.

Elsewhere, a brightly-coloured sound installation has been created for a sculpture park in Shanghai and an angular installation made using 3D-printed mud has been created for the Desert X exhibition in Coachella Valley.

The photography is courtesy of Around the Studio.

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