The little clay figures in Georgia that got out more than you did during quarantine

The little clay figures in Georgia that got out more than you did during quarantine

During the pandemic, journalist Eka Chitanava, in isolation and in search of entertainment, began to sculpt plastic figurines. Here is her story about a new hobby.

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I cast my mind back to my childhood and began to sculpt little clay people. And they began to take the place of the people who once walked the streets of deserted Tbilisi: they sold yogurt in the Italian courtyard, rode a boat on the river, window shopped in front of a closed clothing store, sunbathed in the solarium, played on a swing.

They are based on real prototypes. They themselves are real. In another space – isolation – they would have lost their meaning.

French anthropologist Claude Levy Strauss said that miniature can change people’s perception of an object. We often take large objects in their entirety and don’t stop to examine the details, but in creating miniature models, we somehow to breathe life into them.

Making plasticine figurines is a fascinating form of entertainment, and involves making observations about the world around you while you attempt to change it ever so slightly.

Aunt Tsitso arrives in Tbilisi every morning from the village of Lisi and sells yogurt. Her products are made from all natural milk.

Street cleaners were able to rest during the pandemic – no one was littering in the empty city, as everyone was sitting at home.

This is Grandma Nino, who baked bread in a toné during the quarantine, which is why her whole family grew fat.

But this girl went on a no-bread diet, because she was watching her figure. In quarantine, she dreamed of tanning so much that the refrigerator began to look like a tanning bed.

But these two naughty lovebirds violated quarantine. While everyone was ordered to stay at home, the flame of romance ignited inside them, and they began to take long walks around the empty city, holding each other in their arms.

I even saw them trying to ride a scooter.

And here is lazy Shako, who had to go everywhere by car, even just to the nearest store for bread.

Tbilisi saw such heavy rains in spring that this man had to go by boat (yes, the roads, alas, are in bad shape).

For some, the lockdown has not ended – people with disabilities in Tbilisi have few opportunities to move around the city.

This photo was taken during the time that clothing stores were closed in Tbilisi – when you have nothing to wear, you’ll even rob a mannequin.

But the city is slowly waking up. The street musicians are already returning to their favorite spots

As are the money collectors

And these beautiful girls in bright dresses.