Two exhibitions by young Georgian artists Natalia Lashkhi and David Apakidze are currently on view in Tbilisi, each engaging with the notion of identity through distinct artistic languages and mediums—one turning inward toward the personal and psychological, the other outward toward cultural memory and historical narrative.

The exhibition ‘Identity’ by Natalia Lashkhi (b. 1995) emerges as a nuanced and deeply introspective exploration of selfhood, navigating the shifting boundaries between the conscious and the unconscious. Comprising several distinct series, the exhibition resists the constraints of verbal narration: most works remain untitled, underscoring the artist’s commitment to visual language as the primary vessel of meaning. Lashkhi invites the viewer into a space where interpretation is intuitive rather than prescribed.

Upon entering the main hall of the Zurab Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art, the viewer is met with a sequence of landscapes: mountain ranges, seascapes, modest village houses and solitary lighthouses. At first glance, these scenes evoke a familiar Georgian topography, yet, they are far from mere representations of place. Instead, they function as emotional cartographies, mirroring the artist’s inner states – restless, isolated, and quietly turbulent. Executed predominantly in a restrained palette of greys and blues, punctuated by occasional bursts of color, these works oscillate between external meteorological unease (wind, rain, overcast skies) and an internal atmosphere of anxiety.

Moving to the next major section of the exhibition the chromatic shift is immediate and striking. Cool tonalities give way to saturated oranges, though a sense of unease persists. The orange, frequently juxtaposed with dense blacks, vibrates with a kind of psychological intensity, suggestive not of warmth, but of alarm. Scale is also transformed: intimate landscapes expand into monumental canvases dominated by the image of a swimming pool. The absence of human presence, the eerie stillness of the water, and the vigorous, almost abrasive brushwork conjure a cinematic tension reminiscent of psychological horror. These are spaces suspended in anticipation, charged with something unspoken.

The next series in the exhibition introduces the human figure. Nude bodies are stretched across impenetrable black grounds. Isolated, save for a single paired composition, these figures appear utterly depleted, their corporeality marked by exhaustion and emotional erosion. They embody a contemporary condition: the pervasive burnout that defines Gen Z and Millennial generations. Though not explicitly didactic, the works resonate with broader socio-psychological realities, where fatigue becomes both a personal and collective experience.

Lashkhi continues her exploration of the human condition through portraiture. Some works coalesce into small series, while others stand alone: a mirrored portrait, a submerged female figure, a contemplative thinker. Particularly striking are the smaller, darker portraits, where personal features of faces recede in importance. Instead, the viewer is confronted with dense brushstrokes and an atmosphere that feels visceral, even otherworldly. The figures seem to hover between the human and the spectral, evoking a sense of unease that is both psychological and metaphysical.

One painting, in particular – the portrait of a woman underwater – is particularly striking. Lashkhi’s treatment of water, with its fluid, shimmering surface, recalls the sensibilities of Impressionist painters, yet it is imbued with a contemporary ambiguity. The scene resists clear interpretation: is this a moment of serene immersion or one of quiet suffocation? Within the broader emotional register of the exhibition, the latter interpretation feels more plausible. This ambiguity becomes central to Lashkhi’s practice: moments that cannot be fully resolved, emotions that linger without closure.

Ultimately, ‘Identity’ can be read as both a personal and generational meditation. Lashkhi translates her own internal unrest into a broader visual language that captures the psychological climate of Millennials and Gen Z which is marked by anxiety, economical and political instability, and an ever-present uncertainty about the future. Her work becomes a mirror in which the younger generation may recognize themselves.

In contrast, David Apakidze (b. 1998) approaches the question of identity through a markedly different yet equally compelling lens. His solo exhibition at Tbilisi’s Bukia Vakhania Gallery engages with historical memory, religious iconography, and cinematic imagination. Working primarily with stained glass, Apakidze draws upon the visual legacy of the screenplay ‘The Martyrdom of Shushanik’, by Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990), a project that was never finished due to censorship

The narrative originates from a 5th century text by a Georgian writer and priest Jacob of Tsurtavi, one of the earliest surviving works of Georgian literature, recounting the martyrdom of Queen Shushanik, who was murdered by her husband for her refusal to renounce Christianity in favor of Zoroastrianism. Apakidze reinterprets Parajanov’s preparatory sketches alongside canonical Christian imagery, translating them into luminous stained glass compositions. The medium itself carries profound symbolic weight, evoking ecclesiastical art traditions while also referencing the artist’s own academic background at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts.

Several works are presented within illuminated frames, subtly alluding to the cinematic origins of Parajanov’s project. Three pieces function almost as a suspended film still. Notably, alongside direct representation of Shushanik in many instances Apakidze turned to symbolic motifs that evoke her faith, suffering, and resistance. In one particularly striking composition, the artist introduces a contemporary intervention: the head of the nun is threatened with a firearm. The visual language is pared down, almost austere, yet its impact is immediate and profound, collapsing historical and modern forms of violence into a single image.

While Lashkhi’s practice turns inward, mapping the psychological landscape of the self, Apakidze’s work reaches outward into history, myth, and collective memory. Yet this engagement is deeply personal. As the artist has articulated, his experience as a queer individual within the context of Orthodox Georgian society has been marked by a sense of alienation. Through his study of Georgian history and literature, he reclaims narratives that can be reinterpreted and internalized, forging a space where personal and cultural identities intersect.

Despite their differing methodologies, both artists converge on a shared inquiry: the construction of identity in a complex, often unstable world. Their practices – one introspective and painterly, the other symbolic and historically grounded – form a dialogue that speaks not only to their individual experiences but to the broader sensibilities of their generation.