Hi, My Name is Maryana Dzhokhadze but my
friends tend to call me Mary. It is probably more convenient.
I was born in Odesa, Ukraine to a Jewish
Mother and a Georgian father.
When I turned 6 my Mother and my
Grandparents decided to immigrate to Germany where my new Life should be
started.
After having a quite rocky school
life (changed schools 5 times) and experienced antisemitism in School in Essen, I decided to move to the capital city of Berlin in 2011. Where
I actually started to feel accepted for who I am (there is really nothing bad
with having a Jewish background) and I lost the fear of telling this to people.
I finished my A Grad in Berlin and didn’t
know what to do next, so I traveled to Switzerland while I was on the Waiting
list for Medicine studies. After 1 Year I did not get a spot, so I started studying
Business Administration. Far from what I really lived for: art.
After 3 Semesters I applied at the University
of the Arts.
Got the spot. After joining the
classes of Hito Steyerl and Ai Wei Wei I was able to study one semester abroad,
at the Parsons School, I developed a form of working which is more
philosophical.
The most exciting period of my Life
started when I entered UDK I started to explore my inner self.
I was exposed to art at an early
age through my grandfather who loved the Beatles and of course Michael Jackson
and who read more books than anyone I knew. He introduced me to the world of
music and literature. I introduced myself to photography and paintings after
a while.
I am the only one in the family who is creating art. No one ever understood what
I was doing. My grandfather told me sometimes, that my paintings are boring. I
should go outside and paint some trees and nature. Well, I didn’t do that.
My work explores the relationship between
broken things and human beings. Moreover, it focuses on broken relationships in
general, fragmented ideologies, and political missteps. It is a conversation
between what happened, what is meant to be left behind, and how important it is
to move forward – to reinterpret to transform. As human beings, we
find it devastating to see things breaking or falling apart. For me, I know it
is the beginning of something new – something completely different. Once my
mind agrees with this idea, I feel the emotion of happiness and that’s where my
work begins. Having the power to change
something, to transform my reality and, in this way, my own future: priceless.
Furthermore, I want to express my thoughts and feelings rather than copy-paste
the reality, or the picture of reality, into my work by painting something that
already exists! My goal is to remake the way I see the world, including the emotions
I experience while walking on this earth.
My way of thinking and working changed completely when one of the most
important human beings
in my life, my grandfather, who assumed the role of my father, passed away in
2019. I was and still am devastated – sometimes more, sometimes less.
Ever since I keep asking myself: is this really the turning point in my
life? The turning point of my art career? Am I yet another artist who is going
to let this experience influence her work, and how am I going to think about
death now? The answer: yes. Our interactions amongst others throughout our
daily lives is what molds us into the beings we see before us today. And this
work, is one facet, one representation, of my life. Rebirth and new beginnings are still connected
to my broken glass work but somehow it is deeper now and with more meaning, as I
work with the meaning of death in a way I never thought I might.
