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Irina Kurtishvili: A Ship’s Siren in the City, or a City of Sirens on a Ship
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A Ship’s Siren in the City, or a City of Sirens on a Ship
In Varketili, the phrase in Zura Jishkariani's installation atop one of the buildings inadvertently reminded me of the non-existent, artificial sea in Fellini's Amarcord (1973), which the brilliant director filmed at the Cinecittà studio. The film is set in a small port town. There is one scene where the townspeople learn that a massive passenger liner is approaching the shore. The city seems to awaken from a dream; people rush toward the sea to see the ship. They go out in boats to meet the vessel, and the sirens sound... Suddenly, from the fog emerges the massive, illuminated silhouette of the ship... They cheer and call out to the ship, which majestically sails past and disappears back into the mist... After the ship's passing, the small town returns to its usual routine. In his staged microcosm, the director creates an extraordinary atmosphere of anticipation. The ship is fixed as the town itself, as an unreal entity, a time, or an era that passes and vanishes. It is a quiet, serene, and mystically longing sense of anticipation.
Although the film Amarcord encompasses a certain political context, providing Fellini’s analysis of Italian fascism, it is one of the most compelling auteur films of its time, offering a biting satire on the situation in Italy during the 1930s. The film shows the influence of Mussolini's regime on citizens, depicting the emotions that accompany the gradual transformation of people’s minds. The viewer gets the impression that, given this context, society is not directly oppressed but rather infantilized.
Zura Jishkariani’s phrase is poetic, surrealistic, and multi-layered – it’s clear that Tbilisi is not a seaside city, and therefore no one here would understand the sound of ship sirens. The phrase transcends a slogan-like nature and can be read with a double meaning. This sentence brings a non-existent sea breeze from the rooftop of a nine-story building, and if we deeply ponder its content, we may sense an atmosphere of Fellini-esque indolent (1) anticipation.
What does a siren mean in our cultural consciousness?
First of all, a siren is an audible signal—a universal warning system that activates to precede an impending danger. Many people probably remember the test sirens for emergencies from Soviet times, even in school. During these tests, everyone would leave the building and run outside. The advantage of a siren is that it’s extremely loud, can be heard over a wide area, and immediately grabs attention. The sound of a siren can wake people up at night and warn them about impending disasters—during floods, storms, fires, or explosions. However, during the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986, there were no warning sirens, and as a result, information about the catastrophe was not disseminated in a timely manner.
The word "siren" is associated with water, the sea, and the ocean. The etymology of the word takes us back to ancient Greek mythology. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a siren is a mythological creature, half bird and half woman, a being who enchanted sailors with her song, luring them to dangerous places and leading them to ruin. Interestingly, in art, sirens (Georgian: sirinozebi) initially appeared as birds with women’s heads, but later evolved visually into women with wings and bird-like legs. Themes of this hypnotic song appear in many contexts and literary genres.
According to Homer (2), sirens resided on the western coast of Italy, in the Bay of Naples. Most experts believe that the most likely location is the small archipelago Li Galli (3) near Positano. In Homer’s Odyssey (Book XII) (4), it’s described how the hero Odysseus miraculously escaped the deadly sirens by having his crew members plug their ears with wax to avoid hearing the fatal sound. To be able to steer the ship while still hearing the song himself, he had himself tied to the mast. The scene with Odysseus and the sirens is depicted on a Greek amphora from 480–470 BCE, which is preserved in the collection of the British Museum in London.
Let me also remind you: in Argonautica (Book IV) by Apollonius of Rhodes (5), it is told that when the Argonauts were sailing through these waters, Orpheus (6) sang divinely so that the rowers would not hear the sirens' voices and lose their minds. Only one member of the crew jumped into the sea, but even he was saved from drowning by the goddess Cypris (7). Ovid (8), in his Metamorphoses (Book V), writes that the sirens were companions of Persephone (9). After Persephone was taken by Hades (10), the sirens sought wings to fly over the sea, which they were able to obtain with the help of the gods.
We encounter the word "siren" again in the 12th century: the modern French sirène, which is derived from the Latin siren, itself originating from the Greek Σειρήν (seirēn). From the early Middle Ages, the iconographic and literary transformation of sirens gradually took place, depicting them as mermaid-like nymphs, a portrayal more compatible with Christian ideals. By the 16th century, the term became associated with the image of a seductive, alluring woman (the femme fatale). The figurative expression “someone who sings sweetly, charms, and seduces” has been documented since 1580. For example, in German art and literature, its equivalent is Lorelei (11)—a golden-haired woman who, according to legend, would appear to sailors on the Rhine River, bringing about their doom. Heinrich Heine (12) used this theme in his famous poem in 1824, which the National Socialists were unable to ban due to its popularity, although they rejected the authorship of the Jewish poet and attributed the work to an “unknown author.”
The word "siren" has been used since 1820 to denote various acoustic devices. Initially, it referred to underwater, measuring, and signaling instruments (e.g., foghorns). Subsequently, the word became primarily associated with mechanical devices that produced alarm sounds. Since 1879, the siren is primarily understood in relation to steamships, possibly due to the French tonal quality of the word. Later, it was used in the context of audible warning devices employed to prevent air raids, as well as in factories, police, fire, and ambulance vehicles. Ultimately, from the 20th century onward, the term "siren" became a collective name for warning technology.
Why the roof of the house?
Textual or graphic images placed on the façades and roofs of buildings have a unique visual effect: they can convey certain information from a distance. For instance, let’s recall the historical inscription "Dem Deutschen Volke" (To the German People) (13) on the Reichstag in Berlin, which was installed shortly after the end of World War I. Due to the unprecedented loss, there was an agenda to restore public trust in the monarchy. The phrase acceptable to Kaiser Wilhelm II was installed in bronze lettering on the building's western portal at the end of 1916 and remains relevant today.
Advertising signs have a long history. They are typically found on the roofs of commercial or residential buildings. The roof must be able to support additional weight. A notable example is the enormous Coca-Cola advertisement on the roof of a residential building on Leipzig Street in Berlin, which weighs several tons and attracts attention from afar. Similarly, in Bucharest (Romania), there is the same Coca-Cola advertising structure located on top of a residential building in Piata Romană. The visuals of signs often undergo modernization. For example, a change in the content of a well-known department store's sign in Essen (Germany) received significant criticism. The city is currently seeking a new slogan and is open to ideas from citizens!
Global experience shows that rooftops are frequently used to display protest slogans. A good example is the slogan "NO G20," placed on the roof of the leftist cultural center Rote Flora in the Schanzenviertel district of Hamburg in March 2017, created against the G20 summit. This visual activity was protected by fundamental rights of freedom of expression—however, these rights were ultimately restricted by the assembly. Also noteworthy is a recent event in 2024 in Australia, where activists displayed a massive black-and-white banner with the phrase "Palestine will be free" hanging from the roof of a building.
But let's return to sirens and warnings. In Western countries, specifically Germany, around 30 cities and municipalities have an alarm warning network. These include Dresden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Bonn, Mainz, and Cologne. Siren technology is primarily installed on the roofs of public buildings, schools, and hospitals. For example, in Hamburg, sirens are often activated during storms; elsewhere, they are used in case of fire, and in Bavaria, they are intended for nuclear reactor accidents. Different warning tones are used depending on the city, but across Germany, primarily two sound tones are employed.
Varketili, where the wind constantly blows
According to the general plan from 1970, Tbilisi was projected to grow to a population of approximately 1.2 million, which required a significant increase in living space. To achieve this goal, the construction of satellite districts around the capital, such as Mukhiani, Temka, Didgori, and Varketili, was expedited. This process, in turn, led to uncontrolled urban sprawl, without the development of the necessary infrastructure.
Varketili is located in the north-eastern part of the city, on the Samgori Plain, near the southern bank of the Tbilisi Reservoir, at an elevation of 600 meters above sea level. If you view the settlement from an airplane, you will see a quite refined urban space with wide streets, parks, squares, massive residential buildings, and large recreational areas. As some note, Varketili is considered the best human-friendly microdistrict in Georgia. Due to its proximity to the reservoir, the climate is almost subtropical, with the wind blowing constantly and the area being well-ventilated.
Zura Jishkariani's installation has not yet been installed, but with amazing enthusiasm, I head to the 3rd microdistrict of Varketili to see the chosen location for the artwork. Right from the start, I feel a positive vibe when I emerge from the escalator at the lower (renovation) station to the surface. It's midday... The cheerful hustle and bustle of people near the metro catches my attention. Varketili was built quite late—at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s.
In my line of sight, I notice the reasonable and terrain-adaptive layout of the development, which was initially planned with future growth in mind. You can sense the touch of an experienced architect, who meticulously crafted the transportation scheme: here, a strip of green lawns runs along the road in the middle. The positive impression is enhanced by the small parks scattered here and there, with newly planted trees, bushes, and flower beds, especially considering that the air quality here is indeed better compared to the central districts of Tbilisi...
Zura Jishkariani presents his work in an environment well-known to him. The artist once lived and worked in Varketili, and he is still recognized here. However, Zura, like many others, has gone through the difficult and long path of displacement from Sokhumi since childhood. Today he is a writer, poet, and game designer. He creates projects in the field of modern technologies; he is the author of the first Georgian chatbot; he founded a start up that worked on artificial intelligence, and he has published several books that are examples of experimental prose.
My attention is caught by the nine-story building chosen for the installation, which still bears traces of the 1990s; its size and shape give the impression of a ship. My gaze follows the protruding central façade, where the installation titled "I Have Seen a City" is to be mounted. The weather is wonderful in Tbilisi, and against the backdrop of the blue sky, the metallic frieze is still not visible.
"The elevator is working, don’t take the stairs!"—I was called out as I rushed up the first floor at the pace familiar in Germany. The hot wind is felt even inside the building… The clean, tidy neighbourhood space is noticeable, with freshly washed stairwell landings here and there. Potted plants stand by some doors, and in some places, small oases have been created! I’m on the 6th, 7th, and now the 9th floor, where the construction welding is still ongoing. Here, the guys are helping me cross to the roof. …a siren in the city… where there is no sea… fragments of text cut from massive sheets of metal cover the roof. The workers are resting: some listen to loud music, while others daydream. They are waiting for something. In the midday heat, shadows fall, and I hear the sounds of passing ships in the distance…
1. Indolent, derived from the Latin word indolentia, which means insensitivity to pain. It also refers to the absence of pain, but also indifference to pain in both physical and psychological senses.
2. Siren, its Georgian equivalent is sirinozi.
3. Homer, the legendary Greek poet of the 9th century BC, to whom the epic cycles of Iliad and Odyssey are attributed.
4. Li Galli is considered by German researchers, such as Karl-Heinz Frommolt, Martin Carle, and Humboldt University, to be the possible location of the Sirens. In other versions, the island of Anthemoessa is also mentioned. Source
5. Odysseus, the main character of Homer's poem, one of the heroes of the Trojan War.
6. Apollonius of Rhodes, an Alexandrian scholar and poet who created several versions of Argonautica and left an indelible mark on the history of literature with this work.
7. Orpheus, a singer and musician from Thrace, participated in the journey of the Argonauts. After the death of his wife Eurydice (a forest nymph), he revealed astonishing talent as a musician and singer.
8. Kypris is a cult name for Aphrodite. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. According to Hesiod, Aphrodite was born from the sea foam near the island of Cyprus. Hence, her name originates from there.
9. Ovid, born in 43 BC, was a Roman poet who wrote about love. He created a comprehensive work on the transformation of myths titled Metamorphoses, which consists of 15 books and is considered his most important work.
10. Persephone is a goddess of fertility in prose and art. The daughter of Zeus, according to Homer, she is the wife of Hades, the fearsome queen of the underworld, and also a harbinger of light and goodness.
11. Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, received the underworld when the powers were divided. According to Homer, he is the husband of Persephone, the guardian of the underworld, and the ruler of the realm of the dead.
12.. Lorelei, a cliff 120 meters high located on the eastern bank of the Rhine River at its narrowest point. Strong underwater currents in this area hindered the movement of ships. This cliff and the mermaid of the same name inspired many legends.
13. Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) was a German Romantic poet. "Die Lore-Ley" is his most famous poem about a woman whose beauty and voice bewilder sailors, causing them to crash against the river's cliffs.
14. There were several counter-ideas for the inscription on the Reichstag portal; for example, the Reichstag building commission proposed the phrase “Dem Deutschen Reiche” (to the German Empire), while Wilhelm II leaned towards the phrase “Der Deutschen Einigkeit” (to the unity of Germany).
