Kazakh Art Collective Shines at Berlin Biennale with 'Balkhash Zhyry'
The 13th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art is currently underway, featuring over 60 international artists, including a notable debut from Kazakhstan. Among them is Artcom Platform, a Kazakh art and research collective led by women, showcasing their work 'Balkhash Zhyry' (The Song of the Balkhash Lake).
Artcom Platform's work is deeply rooted in Kazakh traditions and way of life, drawing on Qazaqliq, a form of steppe democracy. Their piece 'A Monument to Common Heroes' honors Kazakh protest heroes, emphasizing solidarity and collective action. This theme resonates with the biennale's focus on 'the ephemeral transmit', exploring art's role in resistance, transmission, and collective memory.
The biennale's venue, a former courthouse in Berlin-Moabit, serves as a symbolic space to explore legality and illegality. Artcom Platform's 'Balkhash Zhyry' delves into threats to the Balkhash Lake and the collective's efforts to protect its ecosystem since 2020. The work creates new spaces for dialogue, dignity, and societal participation, extending beyond the exhibition itself.
The 13th Berlin Biennale provides a platform for Kazakh artists, including Artcom Platform, to translate global themes into a specifically Kazakh context. Through poetic, participatory approaches, they preserve Kazakh traditions and raise awareness about pressing environmental issues, such as the protection of Lake Balkhash.
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