In 2010, Tamara Kvesitadze’s steel sculpture, known as Ali and Nino, was installed in the Batumi, a city in the Transcaucasian country of Georgia. Inspired by a 1937 novel, the statue features a Muslim boy and Christian girl, who fell in love only to be separated by war. Everyday at 7 PM, the two figures in the sculpture embrace for 10 minutes before parting. 

“̈I think the art sculpture represents two people who once knew each other but have moved on,” Pamela Springer, a local Hampton resident, observed.

Through this art, Kvesitadze captures two aspects of human existence: how love enables us to transcend our differences and how the world can affect our views of others. While love can unite us, discrimination based on race, gender, and religious matters can interfere. 

“As I saw the photos of the sculpture, I thought of the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” remarked one teacher at BHS. “Average Ukrainians and Russians have close familial and cultural ties, but politics and greed are keeping them apart.”

When I was reflecting on the artwork, I also imagined two rivals or opposites coming together to make a compromise, an agreement to come together as one. 

Jamir Sedgwick, a student at BHS, shared he felt the sculpture succeeds at expressing our similarities, pointing out how “it shows the two[the boy and the girl] connecting at a point in their lives. “̈

Ali and Nino has a clear, simple message. Although many things divide us, love can help unite us. For many of us students,  the daily grind of classwork is exhausting, and our frustrations can easily turn into conflict in the hallways. If more of us had the opportunity to experience the beauty of artwork, the easier it might be to come together and put aside our differences.