The HUNT
Leonid Mujiri & Kakha Kakhiani
November November 4-18, 2011
Opening reception Friday, November 4, 6:30-8 PM
The Open Gallery is pleased to present The Hunt, two person photo exhibition of Leonid (Leo) Mujiri and Kakha Kakhiani. The photographs depict the sport of hunting as a lifestyle choice steeped in countries’ traditions, and is timed to coincide with the ongoing discussions on the recent amendments to the hunting regulations and procedures in Georgia.
Last two hundred years of urbanization and industrialization have drastically changed the concept of hunting, from being a vital means for survival to being a rite of passage, or a luxury exclusive to nobility, or simply sport. Regardless of the controversies that often surround this activity, hunting has never ceased to inspire artists all over the world. The Hunt’s images do not attempt to make a case “for” or “against” the sport of hunting and do not intend to make viewers question their own preconceptions regarding hunting. Rather than raising a moral or philosophical issue, the exhibition seeks to addresses the subject as a social, cultural, and artistic phenomenon in our contemporary world.
The hunting grounds in Leo Mujiri’s images are located in rural United Kingdom and they creatively focus on the organization of hunters and the rigidity of their hunting rules. There is an armed and tweed-clad “canine squad” that is divided into beaters and shooters by the gamekeeper with a whistle. Kakha Kakhiani photographs the same scenes in rural Georgia. These black and white photos document a group of casually dressed young men with their dogs and guns walking along the road, occasionally stalking the woods and wandering over fields nonchalantly, without any concern of conventional regulations, relishing their freedom and enjoying the sport. The drastically different approaches toward hunting “game” is also evident in the works – Mujiri observes the rules and precision of hunting in the UK while Kakhiani’s view of the process is romanticized in his misty images.
Leonid (Leo) Mujiri earned his degree in Fine Arts at Bellerby’s College, in London, UK in 2006. In 2007 he enrolled at London College of Communication to study photography. After his return to Georgia in 2010, Leo worked at Millennium Challenge Georgia as a Photography Consultant and exhibited at Hobby Gallery, Open Gallery, Shardin Gallery and the United Nations in NY, USA,
Kakha Kakhiani is a free-lance photographer. He is a winner of Grand Prix in 2009 and of special prize in 2010 of the photo contest “Kolga”. In 2009 he was a second place winner in the photo contests organized by Radio “Freedom” and Newsweek. Kakha studied Power Engineering and Telecommunications at Georgian Technical University and Business Administration at Georgian-American University.
For more information please contact the gallery:
10, Chovelidze St. Tel: 225 04 63; Fax: 229 10 52; contact@csf.ge
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10 am to 6:30 pm
