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“Spirit of Asia”: In Words
Asel Rashidova
Dilda Ramazan
Ardak Mukanova
2025
“Spirit of Asia”: In Words
Ardak Mukanova’s digital platform gathers images of the region from words extracted from archival materials. “The last blank spot,” “Oriental exoticism,” “untamed virginity” — these are just a few. Written by artists, curators, and art historians, the texts reflect important events and discourses of the time. The focus lies on how the region was perceived within the context of its inclusion in global (or rather, Western) contemporary art processes. A compelling question emerges: has this perception changed today, and how is that reflected in language?
Possible answers emerge in Dilda Ramazan’s annotations. Documents displayed in the Atelier space invite viewers into a process of close reading. We see how Dilda interacts with the texts — her in-the-moment reactions or specific responses articulated in return. This dialogue allows us to trace how the language we use to describe contemporary art evolves — its defining imagery, categories, and tonalities. And how, in parallel, the (self)perception of the Central Asian region shifts with it.