BLUE

“Fly, doves, fly” – in the 1950s, in a square referred to as doves’ nest, humming these lyrics from Nikita Bogoslovsky’s song used to be a warning sign between gay men about KGB raids. Visitors of the Bolshoi Theatre square called each other “dove” and “doveling.” That’s how the word “blue” (Russian: Голубой) came to be, from the word - dove (Russian: Голубь). Due to efforts from Soviet intelligence, this place ceased existing, and doves disappeared with it, but the word remained and turned into a slur. “Blue” became widespread in all post-soviet countries, including Georgia. The theme of the Fungus project’s first exhibition was this color/word. In the English language, the word blue conveys sadness. In Post-soviet countries, it is the word for gay people. The exhibition united artists around the themes of queerness and melancholia. The story of that square is filled with sadness, just like many other stories in our country and our region, where Queer people are stripped from their identities, spaces, dates, colors and portrayed as shameful, dangerous, and freaks. Queer people have nothing but loneliness, that follows them everywhere: in love, in struggles, at home, or in the streets. “Fly, doves, fly” – in the 1950s, in a square referred to as doves’ nest, humming these lyrics from Nikita Bogoslovsky’s song used to be a warning sign between gay men about KGB raids. Visitors of the Bolshoi Theatre square called each other “dove” and “doveling.” That’s how the word “blue” (Russian: Голубой) came to be, from the word - dove (Russian: Голубь). Due to efforts from Soviet intelligence, this place ceased existing, and doves disappeared with it, but the word remained and turned into a slur. “Blue” became widespread in all post-soviet countries, including Georgia. The theme of the Fungus project’s first exhibition was this color/word. In the English language, the word blue conveys sadness. In Post-soviet countries, it is the word for gay people. The exhibition united artists around the themes of queerness and melancholia. The story of that square is filled with sadness, just like many other stories in our country and our region, where Queer people are stripped from their identities, spaces, dates, colors and portrayed as shameful, dangerous, and freaks. Queer people have nothing but loneliness, that follows them everywhere: in love, in struggles, at home, or in the streets.