Since 2013, the Georgian photographer Natela Grigalashvili has been exploring the lives of the nomads in Adjara, who, like many rural communities, are struggling to survive. In this era of globalization, her series is a poignant document of preserving old values and traditions, of culture and identity. In 2023, her series earned her a spot as one of the twelve finalists on the shortlist for the internationally renowned Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA).
"I want to depict the lives of these people in my photos, who preserve traditions that are disappearing with declining populations and the advance of globalization, and save things that might not be there tomorrow," says the photographer about her project. For ten years, the Georgian photographer has been traveling to various parts of the Adjara region. Several times a year, the nomads change their place of residence, moving up and down the mountains depending on snowmelt, from the high pastures to the valleys, living off livestock farming and agriculture. There is much physical labor and few opportunities for the younger generation – nomadic life is becoming more difficult. "Over the past ten years, the region and the lives of the people here have changed drastically. These changes are no different from what is happening in other rural areas of the country or globally. Like elsewhere, many nomads are leaving the mountains and moving to cities or abroad," says Natela Grigalashvili.
The Georgian was born in a mountain village in 1965 herself. She is familiar with the issues of vacancy and decay, the collapse of infrastructure. Every time she returns to her village, she says it is painful to see the abandoned houses with which she has memories. Her understanding of communities and the sorrow over the process of their disappearance also form the basis of this series. She says, "Through photography, I try to return to the past of my childhood and the feelings I had growing up in the village."
Women churning butter by the village stream, a young cowherd on the mountain pasture, a laundry line in the wind – her images capture the rhythm, harmony, and simplicity of nomadic life in connection with the beauty of nature. They are almost fairytale-like shots, imbued with perfect stylistic elegance. Color, light, mist, dynamics. All elements appear carefully thought out and composed, reminiscent of a picturesque backdrop from a film telling a true story. It is a tale of traditions passed down as belief and idea from generation to generation. At the same time, Grigalashvili's photographs make viewers feel the danger of loss, the melancholy over the fact that a system of adaptation leads to the impending decay of diversity and communities. And thus, one might want to embrace her images one last time as a farewell. For a final dance together.