In David Meskhi’s photographs of gymnasts in motion, the figures are suspended in the air, like divine beings. The human figure, similarly to the monochromatic background, is rendered abstract, reduced to a coloured shape. As in a visual study, Meskhi’s images of idealized human bodies probe the themes of identity, masculinity and nudity. They portray the delicate flying body as an ethereal object, free from any social obligations or judgement.

As the son of the national Georgian gymnastics team coach, Meskhi grew up in gyms and on trampolines. His athletes in states of suspension also symbolize the feeling of weightlessness so familiar to the photographer from his childhood. He juxtaposes them with astrological images, giving a common language to these seemingly unrelated topics and making the viewer aware of the duality of earthly and otherworldly realms.