Svaneti
Z. Tsereteli Museum of Modern Art, with the support of the Italian Embassy in Georgia, presents
the project “Svaneti — Time and Space Relativity Play. Vittorio Sella — Nika Lebanidze.”
In 1889, the Italian photographer and researcher Vittorio Sella (1859 - 1943) organized the first
expedition to North Caucasus in the "Bezingi" valley. The second expedition, led by him, set out
in 1890 to the glaciated peak and concluded its journey in Svaneti. The photographer's research
consisted of three directions: the peaks and geographical locations, urban and demographic
studies. As a result, Sella preserved significant images of Georgia's mountainous region in the
19th century. During the expedition, Sella explored and photographed over thirty peaks in the
Caucasus, twenty of which he conquered for the first time. His contributions were invaluable from
a topographical perspective — many data points were corrected in European academic
geographical publications.
In 2025–26, a research group was formed under the leadership of mountaineer, photographer, and
videographer Nika Lebanidze. The group members include Tata Ksovreli, Gogita Chartolani, Giorgi
Nakashidze, Lado Gulordava, and Giorgi Gomiashvili.
The expedition retraces the route through Svaneti once traveled by Vittorio Sella, specifically
through the locations of Becho, Mulakhi, Muzhali, Ushba Plateau, Ebuthi, Mazeri, Mestia, Ushguli,
and Adishi.
The aim of the project is to document the transformations and present-day condition of this
specific route traveled by Sella 135 years ago by juxtaposing contemporary footage with the
historical documentary images already in existence.
The Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography joined the project, preserving Vittorio Sella’s
works, while archival research was also conducted at the Georgian National Museum.
At this stage, the exhibition project is developing through the narrative of ecological and urban
transformation. The object of the research is the road itself, while the subject is time. Human
beings are viewed as an inseparable part of nature, moving alongside it on the rope, where every
risk and every goal connected to the journey — whether a summit or a value — transforms over time.
