Aison Ower

Five Questions For Expats

By Stan Gaivoronsky

Aison, where did you live before moving to Tbilisi, and what brought you here?

I lived in Moscow for three and a half years, then moved to Tbilisi. Why? I don’t even know—it happened by chance. I never dreamed of coming here. I arrived for a week with just a backpack, a pair of sneakers, and a sleeping bag. My friends had bought me a one-way ticket. I came to paint murals in the “bed and breakfast” they opened, and I didn’t have money for a return ticket.

Where do you live now?

I live near Marjanishvili, right by the Dry Bridge, in an old apartment that’s really not suitable for people. Many who’ve spent the night here say it’s impossible to live in—but I love it. It’s like an artist’s den, with unfinished walls. And it’s close to the river, which I really love.

Name five of your favorite spots in Tbilisi.

There are many old-fashioned shops on Tsinamdzgvrishvili Street, and one in particular is the coolest. The shopkeeper, Rusudan, constantly swears at you, even if you buy something. It doesn’t matter why (laughs). She’s very strange, but somehow really cool. One day, I met her while she was hiding from someone. She went out the back door and spied on the main entrance. Then she saw me and started screaming across the street, “GAMARJOBA ROGOR HAAAR.” I shouted back, “KARGAT AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?” She replied, “HIDING.” Weirdly awesome.

Another welcoming place is a small bookstore near my house. They give you books and say, “You can pay later.” No name or address—just along Javakhishvili Street opposite the square. I also love a strange Georgian canteen with incredible Soviet-Georgian bas-reliefs on the walls and in the basement (probably my love for basements speaking). “Mapshalia” on Agmashenebeli, and a small gallery called “LC QUEISSER.” But honestly, there’s no such thing as a single favorite place in Tbilisi. There’s too much love everywhere.

What do you do?

I draw on walls in cool spots, on paper, canvas, sand, and even in sandboxes. My first exhibition was here in July. I’ve also started stick-poke tattoos. The other day, I did two on a boy from a village in Georgia and one from the heart for a friend. I went to the village “Udobno” to do art and volunteer for a festival. Sometimes I write songs—stupid ones, nowhere to listen to them, like the bards of the past. But if you meet me, I might play them for you.

I also work at Vagabond, the “bed and breakfast” where I painted murals. I’m there as a painter, gardener, sous-chef to a cool chef, cat-feeder, dog attendant, and generally a friend and assistant to everyone who comes from afar.

Five things in Georgia that surprised you.

When I called my mother from the airport to say I was flying to Tbilisi, she said, “Oh, did you know your grandmother lived in Tbilisi?” That surprised me—I had no idea. My grandmother is Polish and has a fascinating life story.

Honestly, nothing surprises me in Georgia. I’d say it delights me or seems naturally part of life.

Say something in Georgian.

“Raaaaaaa.” That’s how I would describe my life in one Georgian word.