New / Old Routes – video art from Central Asia

Stefan Rusu

New / Old Routes

Accompanying text for a video selection from Central Asia

Present statement is an attempt to reframe the experience upon the extensive research I have led as cultural producer: art practitioner and curator, over the past years 5-6 years. My commitment had been to investigate practices concerning the affinity to a consistent interest for the exploration of the Central Asian culture and mentality. The curatorial goal is to deepen and open the process up with a group exhibition of select contemporary artists from Central Asia, with a special focus on video art from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Exploring the remote regions in Central Asia as an external viewer from Eastern Europe, I was primarily motivated and guided by the lack of available information. The lack of interest could be directly tied to the preserved cultural milieu as much as to the ethnic and religious peculiarities that are not always in tune with the Europeans, sometimes even indigestible, as is the case with the unknown cultural context of Central Asian ex-soviet countries.

In order to come closer in my discourse to the nomad specificity, it was necessary to research a profoundly Asian tradition and experience, which I accomplished along the recovered routes of old nomad arts practices connected to the archaic shaman rituals and to still active Sufi centers. The nomad way of life practiced in antiquity by shamans and dervishes invokes, on the one hand, the extreme conditions of survival in the steppe and desert specific to Central Asia and, on the other hand, this represents a mental experience consubstantial to the harsh climate and arid landscape. This ambivalence is perceived as a logical motivation for the interference of this traditional models with present contemporary art discourse, such we could find in the practices of Said Atabekov from the Southern Kazakhstan where shaman tradition is alive or in tune with practices that evokes the spirit of ancient dervishes and where Sufi mental constructions become essential for the actions and videos by Veaceslav Akhunov and Serghei Tychina from Uzbekistan.

Overlapping the networks

A notable period from the Middle Age history of Central Asia and Middle East was the evolution of the Islamic culture marked by the Sufi movement. One of the motors behind this movement was a nomad life of spiritual nature practiced by dervishes. Activating as parallel reality, there were a number of Sufi-mystics, known to a narrow circle of devoted practitioners. Substantial part of such practices could be found only in the manuscripts of the time kept in present-day archives and private collections. They founded numerous spiritual circles in Central Asia and crossed huge distances to hold their charismatic conferences and lectures in many places. This was an experience of spiritual nature, which later merged with the Islam, generating and crystallizing in time a remarkable number of personalities: mystical poets, astronomers, mathematicians, notable researchers such as Abu-ali-Ibn Sina, Ulugbek, etc., thus producing a true cultural explosion, just to mention some of them: Hafez, Omar Khayam, Djalal-id-Din Rumi, Rubay, etc.

Practically the curatorial approach was to trace the extensive routes followed by nomad dervishes across Central Asia that historically is identified with the power points of the ancient Muslim civilization, strewn along the route Samarqand, Bukhara, Hiva, Horesm (Uzbekistan) -Talas, Osh (Kyrgyzstan)-Turkestan, Shimkent (Kazakh-stan).

Those power points are in the state of reconstruction today by the help of outside Muslim Diasporas (by Arabic Emirates in Uzbekistan and by Turkey in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), consequently it is noticed growing interest to Central Asian regions from outside world. It was important to found still active power nodes of Uzbeks Sufi centers around the Nakshbandy calandary-dervishe centers – Hanaka of St.Behautdin, XVI century (1544-45) located near city of Buhara and Hanaca Faiszabad near Feiszabad village. While in the South of Kazakhstan just recently was complete the reconstruction of the Mausoleum of Hoja Ahmed Yassavi from the city of Turkistan that enable public access to the oldest Sufi center constructed in the territories conquested from nomads by Temurleng. This spiritual practices traces from the teaching of Hoja Ahmed Yassavi, known worldwide as an example of interference between the old shamanic believes and Sufi tradition.

By bringing to the surface this form of nomad practices and culture at present, the contemporary art discourse and practice gains a coherence and integrity that pursue and superimpose archaic forms over current ones. An important feature for us emerges from this relationship with the investigation of Contemporary Art practices and its manifestations in Central Asia. This archaic network is overlapping at some point with the routes that interconnect the power points of the present, post-industrial centers: Tashkent (Uzbekistan) – Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) – Janatas, Almaty (Kazakhstan) and the presence of artist initiatives: Contemporary Photography Center from Buchara and Visual Anthropology Art Center from Tashkent established in Uzbekistan, Contemporary Art Center and Asociation Asia Art+ from Almaty, Kazakhstan, artist initiatives “Studio Museum” and “ArtEast” from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Post-communist condition of nomadic culture

The network that links the historic cities – true points of energy from the past, as well as existing post-industrial centers – is duplicated by the existing network of art initiatives that follow our itinerary and art practitioners that re-use the old pre-Islamic and nomadic culture in their art practices. The presence of such centers and power points is the case to discover tendencies that constitutes equally individual positions and group initiatives approached by the curator: Vyacheslav Akhunov and Serghei Tycina from Uzbekistan, Abilsaid Atabekov, Alexander Ugay and Erbossyn Meldibekov from Kazakhstan, Ulan Djaparov and artists couple Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djumaliev from Kyrgyzstan.

The other key aspect of my curatorial interest in the region is connected with low interest in promotion of this particular contemporary art initiatives and practices abroad by the state bodies due internal political and economical situation. Nevertheless, it was possible to locate extremely motivated and engaged individuals showing resistance to inertia, fundamentalist believes and neo-liberal anarchy in these countries.

For instance, the initiative of Vyacheslav Akhunov is worth the attention. Akhunov established the Visual Anthropology Art Center in Tashkent that was eventually forced to shut down in 2004 due to defensive strategy by the Uzbekistani government against American establishment (SOROS Foundation). The mission and strategy of VAAC was the creation of innovative and experimental platform for promotion of contemporary art practices in Uzbekistan. In a similar fashion, some of the Soros-led NGO initiatives which were oriented toward democratization of civil society since the 90’s, only recently became dangerous to the national identity of the grooving Uzbeks political leaders, whose sole wish was to strengthen their supremacy-hegemony over Central Asian regions. Akhunov’s practice both as an artist and art manager at this stage becomes analogous to the well-known underground activities of 70 ‘s during Soviet era such as artist initiatives from Russian cities of Sanct-Petersburg and Moscow.

Following the practices of the Moscow based conceptual art group “Colectivnie deistviea” V. Akhunov organized in 1978 group actions called “Ygrismy” or “Meditations or the way panteismatics uselessly spend time” which where long journeys to the Sufi “mazars” (holy places) in the mountings of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The aim of such trips where exploration of the unknown territories of contemplation and detached imagination in order to achieve the universal knowledge using oriental teaching tehnics such as Zen-Buddhism, Tao and Sufi practices. The other driving reason was self-identification with the nature as the way of knowing oneself in relation with the alienated zones of mega polis and urban landscapes. Only after decades such practices were commented as a way to show critical attitudes toward the state economic and political stagnation. Following the effect of his activities Akhunov forced to act as “unofficial” institution promoting contemporary art practices not only in Uzbekistan, but also in neighboring countries: Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

In tune with the curatorial statement the recent videos by Vyacheslav Akhunov could be commented as the echoes of the “Ygrismi” project specific for the re-use of Sufy mental constructions. The videos (“Ascension”, 2004, “Whirligig”, 2004, “The Corner”, 2004 and “Earth Fishes”, 2004) evoke exercises specific to calandary dervish way of thinking and behavior. He developed this particular video series with the other Uzbek artist Serghei Tycina, under collaborative art project titled «VAST».

In the same manner the art practice of Erbossyn Meldibekov from Kazakhstan was interconnected with the recent political and spiritual transformations of the society. His esthetic and philosophic believes were marked by his involvement in the movements related to national revival that strikes the Kazakh society after the 1990 due to the collapse of USSR. The movement was directed toward rehabilitation and emancipation of civil society connected to the Islamic values and national symbols after decades of oppression and social engineering transformations imposed by soviet ideology. After brutal interventions such movements were drastically shot down under the government of authoritarian ruler N. Nazarbayev. Most of the activists were forced to live the country. Some moved toward radical Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and some others decided to join Uzbek fundamentalist or move even further to Iran as is the case of the philosopher Nurlan Ospanuly. In such circumstance Meldibekov was forced to abandon political involvement in favor of taking the position and acting as an artist. Most of his projects since then took radical aspects in his installations, objects, actions and videos.

His art works: films and installations (“Pol-Pots” series, video performances “Pastan-1” and “Pastan-2”) are the tools in criticizing the power structures and old fashion type of autocracy, pointing to the lack of basic human rights specific for the most of Asian countries. His ambitious “Pastan” project series construct a hypothetic Asian identity showing the lack of resistance in the face of grooving negative tendencies of state oligarchy.

Said Atabekov practice truly reflects the spirit of ancient invaders and shamans, a free spirit of nomads, the founders of the mythical Turk Kaganat, a nomadic territories and legacy that later was disputed between the successors of so called Chingizids and Temurids clans. He starts his activity in the 92’s when he become part of art group “Kyzyl Tractor” raised in Shimkent. The art group agenda was commented as a laboratory of creative restoration that evokes aspects of nomadic culture (shamanist rituals, Sufi practices and traditional Kazakh crafts) and at some point its activity could be summarized as a display and loose combination between ethnographic museum and theater play, but from the other hand the group dealt with restoration of pre-Islamic believes and natural pantheistic rituals which had survived in local exorcist practices. The shamanist approach could trace its influences from the well known community located near Shimkent.

It is worth to mention that the pattern of so called „Sufi performance” is one of the main driving elements that defined the activity of “Kyzyl Tractor” group not only in the past but also in the recent years. For instance the performance „Drank dervishes” done by the “Kyzul Tractor” members Moldacul Narymbetov и Аrystanbek Shalbaiev for the Washington art-festival in 2005, denotes such constant exploration of Sufi inventory. With the new media trends Atabekov starts using the image of lonely dervish independently from the group that become visible in his solo video installations and performances such as “The dream of Genghis Khan”,1998, “Warning, Landmines” 2000, “Walkman” 2004 and others. The Atabekov’s piece “Neon Paradise” (2003) documents a performance in which an artist, in a dervish-like, praying manner, opens up the doors of a supermarket by rhythmical bowing – a tribute to a character present in early performances. This act opens a discussion on globalization as imperialist method of domination of multinational companies over the transitional states and Third World societies in general. We could interpret the work as the recognition of issue of inciting religious fundamentalism, which appears to conform with globalizing empires.

The other artist we would like to introduce is Alexander Ugay, a photographer and video artist from Almaty, Kazakhstan that was educated at sea-men college in St. Petersburg and graduated from Low University in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). In partnership with Roman Maskalev he founded a creative group “Bronepoezd” (‘An armored train’) that is active since the year 2000. Their well known video trilogy “Universal Sorrow” combines the expression of myth, pathos, and poetry.

The optimism is not exactly the real meaning of present Ugay’s work “Optimism”; on the contrary it could be interpreted as artist’s response on irreversible social and cultural processes that undergo in his native country. The cultural values of the society due to devastating changes of the 90’s couldn’t stay untouched in the face of expanding globalizing world. Decades of isolation and planed development of the state economy in the frame of political project forced the traditional culture to become associated with kitsch, fake and chip appropriations. In such conditions the nova days trade routes expansion in tune with rampant neo-liberal parade allow very narrow space for authenticity already flattened by imported trends. Ugay’s own practice involves -cinema-objects’ in the form of short, experimental films, parables and performances recorded on 16mm Soviet-era video cameras.

Ulan Djaparov is a multitask artist, oscillating between individual artist practice, publishing activity and developing the artist initiative “Studio Museum”. At the same time he is the promoter of the “URBI et ORBI” magazine (1999-2003), where he published artist’s texts and presented current trends in contemporary Asian culture. In 2004 he co-curated the first Contemporary Art exhibition “…and Others” from Bishkek (an initiative launched by Kurama Art Gallery) showing his curatorial and managerial capacities. Being trained as architect, he is able to articulate an extended contemporary art vocabulary. His works are synonymous with the light irony, energized with gestures that gravitate around extremely “light” actionist practice.

Over the past years he produced a series of short videos, from which two of them: “Blin…Monster”, and “e La Nave Va….” (2004) are part of the selection. His way of constructing the message is based mostly on performances he collected during his extensive participation in various trips and projects. The first piece explores the hidden sides of nursing rituals, while the other work – a game, started as a trivia, turns into a gesture of respect to austere and clear Baikal Lake. The film is related to the disappearance and dissolution as a principle, back to aesthetics of oriental philosophy.

Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev, collaborate already for years, the artist’s couple are renowned for their documentary-style video installations and photography exploring the ramifications of political upheaval and modernization. Both artists initially coming from traditional art background, she studied as graphic designer and he graduated as sculptor, never the less their focus on contemporary art and years of efforts propel them to the top of the international art market.

In 2004 the couple organized an art project in search for mythic settlements of Kyrgyz tribes in South Siberia close to the Mongolian border. Together with the artist from the region they handle an extremely difficult and in the mean time successful expedition trough Altai, Tuva and Hakasia autonomous regions. The artists are the founders of active “Art East ” initiative and recently they co-curated the previous edition of Contemporary Art exhibition – “In the shadow of the heroes”, 2005 and later the second edition – “Zone of Risks”, 2006 from Bishkek (organized by Kurama Art Gallery).

Their renowned video installation “Transiberian Amazons” was successfully shown in the frame of 2005 Venice Biennale. The work emphasize on surviving methods of the post-soviet countries population. It is a new face of a post-communist economy. It is about new nomads: women that travel thousand miles by train all over former Soviet Union transporting goods for sell. From the border with China to Moscow and back, all over again, they travel in order to sustain their minor budgets: a way of opposing to agonizing state economy. Melding the poetic with the political, they employ beautifully haunting imagery with minimal narrative structure in order to recount poignant tales of human struggle, perseverance, and hope for the future.

To sum up, with the selected artists positions we offer a retrospective look at the internal processes of the social-political evolution and cultural background from the region. It was extremely important and necessary to examine the current problematic and trends in contemporary culture, as well as of further developments in these Islamic states after the collapse of Soviet era .The idea of overlapping networks and the relationship between these two traditions – the archaic-nomad one and the present-day post-industrial culture – provides a synthetic equation and cumulates an extraordinary cultural load. In such way the practices oriented toward the re-use of tradition become the necessary tool for articulation of contemporary art discourse that establishes the nods of resistance to inertia, apathy and historical amnesia. The curatorial goal was to promote the attitudes and positions of the Asian artists and future exchange between the contemporary art practitioners from Europe and Central Asia. The presented selection was conceived to become a substantial contribution towards the realization of this program.

Stefan Rusu

Chisinau 2007