66 When the Sun Rises

როდესაც მზე ამოდის

Tbilissi |

Georgia

Georgian

Behind the scenes

Georgia often brings to mind powerful landscapes: the mountains of the Caucasus, stone villages, vineyards, and churches perched on hills.

In this setting, I imagined that fragile moment when the day begins. A rooster crows in the courtyard, the smell of fresh bread drifts from a house, and the first light slides over stone walls and vines still covered with dew.

This text was born from a simple idea: each new day opens up a field of possibilities waiting to be embraced.

The illustration extends this atmosphere: a landscape facing the mountains, calm and luminous, like an invitation to welcome the day as it begins.

Echoes of the world

The text is written in Georgian, a Caucasian language belonging to the Kartvelian language family, spoken in the region for over 1,500 years.

Georgian uses a unique script called mkhedruli, made up of 33 letters with rounded, elegant shapes that give the writing the appearance of a flowing drawing.

In the title, მზე (mze) means “sun.” This very short word appears frequently in Georgian poetry to evoke light, life, and renewal.

The name of the capital, თბილისი (Tbilisi), comes from the Georgian word თბილი (tbili), meaning “warm,” in reference to the thermal springs that have existed in the city since ancient times.

As is often the case with ancient languages, Georgian words remain deeply connected to the landscapes and history of the country.