Georgian mornings is a collection of personal photographs taken throughout my formative years as a photographer (2009-2013). The images strive to capture some of my very emotional moments in this particularly elusive time of the day. Most of the photographs are taken after sleepless nights, sometimes on my way back home from a long night out. I find a certain kind of romance in mornings like these. Empty streets and the absence of strangers bring a peculiar feeling of freedom to this otherwise repressed and controlled society.

The body language and behavior of the characters in these snapshots clearly communicate their fragility, although the aim of this project is far from exposing our weaknesses or vulnerabilities. This remoteness formed some sort of an intimacy between us and made us aware of the true importance of freedom, always bringing us closer to each other. It’s almost impossible for me to be dispassionate while recalling this period of my life.

The visual aspects of these photographs—especially the calm color tones, which is less typical in my work—direct viewers’ attention to the meditative and peaceful settings, contrasting the disordered dynamics of an ordinary day in this country. It is also significant how the combination of colder colors, like pale green, light blue and white dominate over the golden sunrise yellow which only is present in a couple of photographs. The above-mentioned dominance occurs deliberately in order to emphasize the less theatrical and staged reality in our everyday lives.

Like most of my work, Georgian mornings portrays and documents the sentiments and atmosphere of the time period it was created in, however, at the same time it strives towards timelessness with its romantic and melancholic elements.

George Nebieridze for Chai Khana.

Header photo: Morning Taxi Home [Tbilisi], 2011