IURI SHUBLADZE

This papier-mâché sculpture is a crescent moon form mounted on a dark rectangular base. The crescent is densely encrusted with dozens of small, hand-sculpted eyes that follow its outer curve, giving it a hypnotic, watchful presence. Each eye is framed by delicate, bead-like textures that resemble tiny pearls or barnacles, evoking both jewelry and underwater life.

The surface is divided subtly into two tones: one side leans toward a soft blush or pinkish hue, while the other is a creamy off-white. This gradient reinforces the sense of transition—day to night, land to water, seen to unseen. The title “3.940 Freshwater Pears, 57 Hand-sculpted eyes” suggests a play on “pearls,” connecting the clustered, pearl-like textures and the freshwater association, as if the moon itself had been dredged from a lake, encrusted with living jewels that stare back at the viewer.

Overall, it feels like a dreamlike, slightly surreal object—part celestial symbol, part organic relic—where the calm, elegant crescent is made uncanny by the multiplicity of eyes that adorn it.

Approx. 3.940 Freshwater Pears

57 Hand-sculpted eyes

20’’x 20’’x 6’’