Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia launched an investigation against the artist Sandro Sulaberidze, who made an inscription on the wall of the National Gallery, under article 177, subsection A of the second part of the Criminal code, which means secretly taking another person’s movable property for its unlawful appropriation, which has resulted in considerable damage.
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At the opening of the exhibition, Sandro Sulaberidze, removed his work from the wall and made an inscription with spray paint “Art is alive and independent”. Due to this fact Keti Shavgulidze, curator of the exhibition was summoned to the police and questioned. According to Shavgulidze, law enforcers were interested in what could have been the reason for the artist's action. MIA did not specify under which article of the Criminal Code they had started the investigation till now.
Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts announced on February 5 that the artist damaged the wall of the exhibition space. In the statement published on the social network, it was noted that “the consequences of the damage were eliminated”.
Artists are collecting signatures in support of Sandro Sulaberidze and are going to appeal to the Minister of Internal Affairs:
“This fact caused confusion, as it formally violated the regulations of the exposition because such a change of one's work was not agreed with the curator. It is worth noting the fact that the artist did not touch other works, did not damage anything or anyone, the content of the text is a general and philosophical slogan, and it is not offensive or humiliating to anyone.
With unexpectedness, the gallery administration called the police, and proceedings against Sandro Sulaberidze started. It should be noted that part of this exposition consists of various text fragments, which will be removed by the organizer immediately after the exhibition ends and the gallery will return to its original appearance (this always happens in the case of temporary exhibitions). It was possible that this unplanned improvisation was a continuation of the existing texts, however, the organizer of the exhibition repainted the inscription on the very next day, which should have neutralized the displeasure of the gallery administration.
The fact of the inscription and the sudden change of the work by the artist himself cannot be qualified as vandalism, as long as he did not harm anyone. It can be considered within the framework of artistic actionism and happenings and its interpretation can be many, but any version is only within the competencies of the artistic field and is not a violation of the law.
As for us, representatives of our field, the freedom of self-expression of the artist is the main value that is provided by the worldview of all democratic states, and the restriction of this freedom is a characteristic sign of totalitarian regimes.
Taking into account this current reality, please change the qualification of the case started against Sandro Sulaberidze and support the clarification of the issue in the format of negotiations between the artist and the gallery administration,” the statement said.
Indicated article of the Criminal Code envisages house arrest for a term of one to two years or imprisonment for a term of three to five years as a punishment.
