Centenary of World War I: female photographer captures history at the Caucasus Front

The Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery (usually just referred to as The National Gallery) on Rustaveli Street in Tbilisi is currently displaying the exhibition: ‘The Caucasus Front through Nino Jorjadze’s Camera Lens’ to mark the centenary of World War I. Nino Jorjadze was a female war photographer.

Jorjadze was the first Georgian woman photographer to capture a series of World War I scenes in the region at the Caucasus Front from 1914-1918. During WWI Georgians served in the military of the Russian Empire. For the first time, The National Gallery is exhibiting her photographs, letters, diaries, documents and personal items. There are also photographs of Nino Jorjadze and her family on display, most had to be restored by the Georgian National Museum’s photo-paper conservation laboratory. The Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia has also released a book-album of her work, entitled ‘World War I through the Eyes of a Georgian Woman.’ The photographs are from battles at Sarikamish, Kars, Begli-Akhet, Bitlis, Karakamis, Nazik, Anis, and Selim.

The exhibition is on display from June 17 to July 17, 2015, as part of the global events for the 100th anniversary of World War I.

Nino Jorjadze (1884-1968), was born in Tbilisi to mother, Tamar Bagration-Mukhraneli (1855-1940), and father, Zakhari Jorjadze (1847-1895). She had two brothers, Alexander (1880-1939) and Giorgi (1882-1918). She studied French in Paris before returning to attend a nursing course with the Sister of Charity at the Mikhail Hospital in Tbilisi. In 1914 she volunteered with the International Red Cross as WWI commenced, joining the second advanced detachment. She saw military action with from the very beginning of the conflict. She was awarded the St. George Medal for Bravery in 1915.

The photographs are from archival materials from the private collection of Alexander Bagrationi. Much of the diaries were written in Russian (most were destroyed), but some entries were in French. She took the photographs with her brother Giorgi’s Kodak camera. The collection on display is extensive and exceptionally interesting.

www.museum.ge

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall: book review

The Beggar’sStrike (1979 in French and 1981 in English) is set in an unstated country in West Africa in a city known only as The Capital. Undoubtedly, Senegalese author Sow Fall writes of her own experiences. It was also encapsulated in the 2000 film, Battu , directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko from Mali. Mour Ndiaye is the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene, with the opportunity of a distinguished and coveted promotion to Vice-President of the Republic. Tourism has declined and the government blames the local beggars in The Capital. Ndiaye must rid the streets of beggars, according to a decree from the Minister. Ndiaye instructs his department to carry out weekly raids. One of the raids leads to the death of lame beggar, Madiabel, who ran into an oncoming vehicle as he tried to escape, leaving two wives and eight children. Soon after, another raid resulted in the death of the old well-loved, comic beggar Papa Gorgui Diop. Enough is enou

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog