- 45
Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djoumaliev
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Description
- Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djoumaliev
- Spring
- single-channel colour video with sound (12 minutes, 32 seconds)
- Executed in 2009, this work is number 1 from an edition of 5, plus 1 artist's proof and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artists.
Provenance
Collection of the Artist
Exhibited
Lille, TriPostal, Scénes Centrales, 2009
New York, Museum of Modern Art, An Evening with Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev, 2009
Miami, Art Asia, Truly Truthful, 2009
Milan, Impronte Contemporary Art, Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev: A New Silk Road, 2010
Turin, XIV Festival Cinemambiente/Circolo Culturale Amantes, Aspettando La Primavera (Waiting for Spring): Focus Sull’Arte Dell’Asia Centrale Il Duo Kirghiso Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djumaliev, 2011
New York, Museum of Modern Art, An Evening with Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev, 2009
Miami, Art Asia, Truly Truthful, 2009
Milan, Impronte Contemporary Art, Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev: A New Silk Road, 2010
Turin, XIV Festival Cinemambiente/Circolo Culturale Amantes, Aspettando La Primavera (Waiting for Spring): Focus Sull’Arte Dell’Asia Centrale Il Duo Kirghiso Gulnara Kasmalieva & Muratbek Djumaliev, 2011
Literature
David Elliott, Ed., Between Heaven & Earth: Contemporary Art from the Centre of Asia, London 2011, p. 16, illustrated
Catalogue Note
The artistic couple, Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djoumaliev, make use of the latest techniques in video art to address issues particular to their surroundings. Their short films present new perspectives on historic moments of Kyrgyzstan such as the Tulip Revolution of 2005, as well as the untold stories of marginalised groups and individuals such as Silk Road tradesmen, long-haul truck drivers and immigrants. By overlaying high-definition video footage with complex soundtracks of classical music for added effect, their works have strong evocative powers and raise concern for human conditions in a Post-Soviet environment.
For Spring, the artists invited a quartet of classical musicians to play Vivaldi on a landfill. The majestic music coupled with the formal dress and posture of the performers stands in drastic contradiction to the setting. Covered in smog with crows hovering above, what at first appears to be a gothic landscape is slowly revealed to be ruined buildings and garbage heaps with figures scavenging amongst them. It remains unclear as to whether they are discarding their personal possessions or searching for pieces of clothing. Curiously, these people continue about their business unfazed by the presence of the musicians or, presumably, the filming crew. While portraying a unique scene of human adaptability, the video also juxtaposes the irreconcilable states of beauty and destitution, destruction and recovery. It epitomises a world that exists only at extremes, where nothing is surprising and everything is possible.
For Spring, the artists invited a quartet of classical musicians to play Vivaldi on a landfill. The majestic music coupled with the formal dress and posture of the performers stands in drastic contradiction to the setting. Covered in smog with crows hovering above, what at first appears to be a gothic landscape is slowly revealed to be ruined buildings and garbage heaps with figures scavenging amongst them. It remains unclear as to whether they are discarding their personal possessions or searching for pieces of clothing. Curiously, these people continue about their business unfazed by the presence of the musicians or, presumably, the filming crew. While portraying a unique scene of human adaptability, the video also juxtaposes the irreconcilable states of beauty and destitution, destruction and recovery. It epitomises a world that exists only at extremes, where nothing is surprising and everything is possible.