Artist's Cancer Diagnosis Sparks Insight into Soviet Economic Collapse
In autumn 2022, Giorgi Gagoshidze, a 42-year-old Georgian artist based in Berlin, was deeply immersed in creating a documentary about the dissolution of the Soviet Union when his own health dramatically failed. After returning from filming in Tbilisi, he experienced severe shortness of breath, leading to an X-ray that revealed both lungs filled with water. Doctors urgently directed him to Berlin's Charité hospital, warning that immediate action was necessary to save his life.
A Brutal Medical Journey and Artistic Resilience
Gagoshidze was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer at an advanced but treatable stage. His survival depended on an intense regimen of chemotherapy followed by an eight-month hospital stay in isolation. "Everything just collapsed," he recalls, noting the harsh realities of both his health crisis and the competitive art world. Despite this, within three years of his diagnosis, his documentary, Graft Versus Host, is set to premiere at the Berlin film festival.
The 31-minute film blends archive footage, personal reflections, and DIY computer graphics, drawing stylistic inspiration from documentarians like Adam Curtis and Hito Steyerl. While visually chaotic, it offers a clear historical perspective, as Gagoshidze found that his cancer treatment mirrored the collapse and transition of the Soviet Union. "My treatment plan quite accurately mirrored the Soviet collapse and its post-transition plan," he explains.
Parallels Between Medical Treatment and Economic Transition
Gagoshidze's treatment involved three critical steps: suppressing cancer cells, introducing a new immune system via a bone marrow transplant from his father, and managing graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), where the new immune system attacks the recipient's body. He describes this as "a permanent civil war in the body," managed with medication to keep the immune system subdued.
Similarly, he draws connections to the Soviet economic experiment in Abasha, Georgia, launched in 1973 by Eduard Shevardnadze. This initiative allowed farmers to retain surplus crops, boosting agricultural output and solving food shortages. However, it also fostered illegal enterprises and corruption, leading to a shadow economy. When the USSR collapsed, this system could not be reformed gradually but plunged into a rapid, unregulated capitalism. "When the Soviet Union collapsed, everything collapsed," Gagoshidze recalls, citing empty supermarket shelves and loss of basic utilities in Georgia.
Ongoing Struggles and Hopeful Outcomes
Today, Georgia faces ongoing challenges as it adapts to post-Soviet realities, with farmers lacking state support and struggling to find new markets. The country, granted EU candidate status in 2023 but facing democratic setbacks, remains in a "vicious circle" of catching up without arriving. In contrast, Gagoshidze's health outlook is positive; his GvHD was mild, and doctors indicate he could be cured by autumn if his condition remains stable. "The doctors are happy, and if they are happy, I am happy," he says, as his film premieres, offering a unique lens on history through personal adversity.
