Supervisors: Prof. Theo Smeets, Levan Jishkariani M.F.A.
"One can say: My thesis was written by walking. In a figurative sense.
Walking and finding as well as collecting were always part of my life. In my thesis I did a research about the history, theoretical background, reasons and results of it.
My work as an artist was right from the beginning connected with found objects, they were always fascinating for me. There is a special coincidence in the fact that during my MFA-study in Idar-Oberstein I did a lot of walks. This region is a paradise for stone lovers, I found agate, jasper, rock crystal, amethyst and others. These I integrated into the jewellery pieces I finished as part of this study.
Things culminated somehow for me: my interests for ethnology and archaeology, the fact that I did walking and running since I became an adult and that I was always finding “something” since my childhood, naturally ending up with different collections or later than in the jewellery I made.
Walking is done around the whole world. Why? Starting point is my own interest and practice of this but also the fact that a lot of artists, philosophers and writers were great recreational walkers and that walking and finding are part of our cultural heritage, they are basic cultural technologies. Walking and finding are strongly connected, not only in my own experience.
I will take a closer look at the terms ‘walking’ and ‘finding’ as well as on material and immaterial traces.
One chapter is dedicated to art works in this field. What are the reflections of other artists on their process of walking and finding? Finding means not necessarily found objects, there are a lot more things, photos, thoughts, knowledge, feelings … How to transform them?
At least there are personal questions. What is the influence of walking and finding onto my work as an artist? What happens during my walks? Why did I become a finder? I hope to find answers to these and other questions. These questions were until now buried deep in my mind, and it was not easy to bring them out in the open.
The artistic-practical part as well as the final reflection are showing new paths I found during my research, unexpected connections between my theoretical and practical work. These thoughts influenced directly my way of thinking and doing. I’m looking forward to the future but at the moment I’m really lucky with the results of my study."
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