FEAR AND EMPTINESS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ASKHAT AKHMEDYAROV

Abstract

Askhat Akhmedyarov is an artist from Kazakhstan recognized on the global art scene as an original artist with an art-activist agenda. His selected solo exhibitions include: The Singular Plural, National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana (2016); In Dialogue with Fire, M HKA, Antwerp (2023); ҮМІТ, Aspan Gallery, Almaty (2022); AYAN, TSE Art Destination, Astana (2019); Malus Sieversii, Andakulova Gallery, Dubai (2015); and Naphthalene, Khas Sanat Gallery, Astana (2015). Group exhibitions include: Lost to the Future: Contemporary Art from Central Asia, LASALLE College of Arts – ICA Singapore, Singapore (2013); Protagonists: The Invisible Pavilion of Kazakhstan at the 56th Venice Biennale (2015); Energy of the Future, Kazakhstan Pavilion, Expo-2017, Astana; and Focus Kazakhstan: Post-Nomadic Horizons, London (2018).

This interview with the artist was recorded in May 2020, at the height of COVID-related social restrictions. Overcoming personal apprehensions and navigating the general restrictions on visiting public places, we met on the outskirts of Astana—at the site of a ring road under construction—surrounded by mounds of construction debris, beyond which lay the reeds and the famous Taldykol (a site associated with local protests). Perched atop the metal structure that remained from the truck inspection point, and gazing out at the sweeping skyline of the capital’s new developments bathed in the pre-sunset glow, we held the kind of conversation peers often do—simply about everything. We spoke of the things that mattered to the artist and the researcher—sometimes jokingly, sometimes seriously—sharing candid thoughts on creative pursuits and civic stances.