On Sept. 24, the exhibition «Jetyqaraqsi» («Big Dipper») opened at the Egin Artspace in Almaty, exploring time, distance and space through the work of renowned Kazakhstani artist Askhat Akhmedyarov.
At the gallery entrance, visitors were greeted by a large installation made of kazans — traditional cast-iron cauldrons — bolted together. The kazan holds profound significance in Kazakh culture as a vessel traditionally used to prepare food and gather people around the hearth.
The artist told Kursiv LifeStyle that he created a massive necklace from kazans of various sizes. Having grown up in Western Kazakhstan, he said he had always seen women at the hearth.
Against the backdrop of the recent tragedy in Mangystau, where 14 people died during military exercises, the kazans on Nurmakov Street (Egin Artspace) take on a different meaning. Turned upside down, they become a Kazakh symbol of tragedy, calamity and devastation.
Although the kazans are new, the artist chose not to leave them polished and shiny. Instead, he covered them in soot as a historical reference.
The exhibition was organized with the support of the AMA Foundation for Culture and Education, which promotes cultural and educational projects in Western Kazakhstan.
The exhibition also features several sculptures, including one titled «Wild Apple Tree Branch.» In one way or another, all the works reflect the artist’s thoughts about himself, Kazakhstan and nomadic culture.
His latest exhibition explores the concept of memory in a changing world that constantly demands people’s attention.
Art historians, art professionals and art enthusiasts who attended the opening hailed the exhibition as one of the most notable currently on view in Almaty.
It also attracted an unexpected group of visitors: young tourists from Finland who happened to wander into Egin Artspace and were encountering contemporary Kazakh art for the first time.
