Central Asia Pavilion
2005
Curator: Victor MisianoCommissioner: Chuerek Jamgerchinov
Organizer: Kurama Art Gallery (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) www.kurama-art.com. "The art of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan is perhaps the last territory that has not been clearly mapped out on the global artistic map. This exhibition, the first Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in history, represents another attempt to bridge this gap.
The justification for this effort is predetermined not only by the uniqueness of these countries' cultural, historical, ethnic, and artistic identities but also by interest in this region stemming primarily from its role as one of the subjects of Soviet modernization and its place in the global system."And, in terms of art, the involvement in the artistic reforms of the Russian avant-garde has led Central Asian artists to create their own context and perspective on the vision of contemporary art discourse. This regional context was first presented at the Venice Biennale. It was presented as a collection of artists from different generations, ethnic groups, cultural centers, and countries. It makes sense to present this context not in terms of its latest statements that claim to be relevant. Instead, it should be presented as a set of individual and collective experiences, especially the experiences of the post-Soviet period. After all, the conclusions drawn from these experiences are still unanswered questions that are relevant today.
The Central Asian Art Archive is a contemporary art archive. One of the main challenges of our time is the search for identity, which has also been addressed by artists in Central Asia. Countries that have recently gained political independence are now active participants in this process. Artists from various generations have begun using the mythopoetic narrative, which takes the form of installations and then video. From Rustam Khalfin, the founder and leader of the Almaty art scene, to Almagul Menlibaeva, artists have used this narrative to express themselves through performances and also through large-scale, permanent works created in the heart of an untouched landscape. Thanks to the efforts of artists like Rustam Khalfin and Kanat Ibragimov, this narrative, which draws on national and ethnic archetypes like the steppe, nomadicism, Sufism, sacrifice, and Pagan worship, refuses to claim authenticity. Instead, it is invariably recognized as a construct. It was first created and then discarded immediately. So, the author's idea of Vyacheslav Akhunov includes both symbols of Soviet propaganda - the pyramids and busts of Lenin - and symbols of Western consumerism, such as the ill-fated Coca-Cola advertisement. On the other hand, Said Atabekov's original shamans include motifs from postmodernism, such as a Kalashnikov rifle or police silhouettes in the street. However, the national myth is not just a creation of artists, it's also a new political force, in relation to which artists adopt a detached analytical and deconstructive stance (an example of this is the work of Victor and Elena Vorobievs). Artists also show (through works by Sergei Maslov), the other side of the new political myth, which is a reality of survival that lacks national identity and is universal. This openness to the universal, according to Murat Dzhumaliyev and Gulnara Kasamaliyeva, leads to a paradoxical positive in the dramatic post-Soviet experience.
However, the understanding of the universal principle among Central Asian artists is just as ambiguous as their sense of national identity. Some names and phenomena from this region can be found in our Current Archive of Central Asian Art.
You can view the works and photos of the exhibition on our website by following the link.
