Catalogue of the 2nd Bishkek International Exhibition of Contemporary Art held at Alato Central Square in 2005. The exhibition also includes a special project of curator, Sara Raza, which features artists from Iranian and Kurd diasporas. Images of works in the catalogue are accompanied by artist biographies.

'The official post-Soviet images of the heroic are already very well represented on Central Asian territory. The present-day creation of heroic myths has resulted in the cloning of numerous portrait statues on horseback all the way from the Caspian Sea to Mongolia. The search for cultural identity is in crisis. Somewhere within us, we experience an unwavering sense that what is most important has been left behind, beyond the limits of public attention, in the shadow of "heroes." - extracted from article by curator Muratbek Djoumaliev on the concept of the exhibition.

'Curator Muratbek Djoumaliev wrote, 'One of the eternal problems for creative people is the understanding the "heroes" of their time. Artists’ identities are indissolubly connected to their surrounding environments, and their creative works, in one way or another, reflect the processes occurring in society at any given moment. Contemporary Central Asia is characterized, on the one hand, by collective phobias, skepticism, disappointment, and a lack of faith in tomorrow and, on the other, by adventurism, cynicism, and a desire for pleasure and success. The overwhelming prevalence of these moods and behaviors leads us to ask the question: How can we define the "hero" of our time? What is he like? In what contexts is he represented? Is there an inherent conflict in asking what makes for a "hero" in today’s world, when "anything goes" in the arts? Can we speak with certainty of the loss of "the enemy" in artistic representations? How should artists relate to mass media treatments of "heroes"?

'These are the main questions that underlie the curatorial selection for the exhibition.'

Access level

Onsite

Location code
EX.KYR.BIE.2005
Language

English, 

Russian

Publication/Creation date

2005

No of copies

1

Content type

catalogue

Chapter headings

In the Shadow of 'Heroes' - Muratbek DJOUMALIEV

The Perspective of Growth - Gamal BOKONBAEV

Screening. Notes on Uzbek Contemporary Art - Boris CHUKHOVICH

New nomads - Oksana SHATALOVA, Alia GIRIK

On Heroism and the Afghan Diaspora Artists - Leeza AHMADY

In the Shadow of Fallen Heroes - Sara RAZA

In the Shadow of 'Heroes': 2nd Bishkek International Exhibition of Contemporary Art
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In the Shadow of 'Heroes': 2nd Bishkek International Exhibition of Contemporary Art