Ali and Nino Statue

Slow-moving steel sculpture of two lovers passing through each other every ten minutes

On the seafront promenade north of the city centre, two enormous steel figures — a man and a woman — stand facing each other across about a metre of air. Every ten minutes, hidden motors begin to slide them together. They meet in the middle, briefly pass through each other, and then separate again. It is one of the most popular things to watch in Batumi, particularly at dusk when the figures are silhouetted against the Black Sea.

The work is by the Georgian sculptor Tamara Kvesitadze, and was originally created for the Venice Biennale in 2007. Locals know it as Ali and Nino after the famous Caucasus love story; officially the work is titled simply Man and Woman.

things to do landmark
A story
The sculpture is based on the 1937 novel Ali and Nino by 'Kurban Said' — the story of a Muslim Azerbaijani boy and a Christian Georgian girl whose love is doomed by religion, family, and the Russian Revolution. Every ten minutes the two seven-metre figures glide together, briefly merge, and then pass through each other and apart again.