Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth: Notes on an Exhibition

“Dismissed as the “Stans”, downgraded to little more than theatres of environmental abuse, religious conflict and war, they are characterized as devoid of contemporary culture, nuance or humanity and processed into the clichés of a “Borat” style, post-Soviet wasteland.”

Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth: Notes on an Exhibition
David Elliott

Between Heaven and Earth, is a new exhibition of work from 23 contemporary artists from Central Asia. It has been conceived by Berlin-based curator, David Elliott for Calvert 22, a not-for-profit foundation specializing in contemporary art from Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and located in Shoreditch, London, UK.

In an exclusive edited extract from his essay for the accompanying catalogue, Elliott describes the context and artistic impulses, which motivate these artist’s works.

“Our ancestors were sensitive to large spaces…in tune with our homeland and customs through symbolism. This enables us to recreate ourselves and to negate the entire system of education we have grown up with. Art must be about free thinking, which is not governed by any particular theory of viewpoint. Human thought is a continuous process. Only our desires, confidence, and choice shape us. Art is happiness, sadness and regret, and even belief in magic.”
— Manifesto of the Green Horse Society, Ulan Bator, Mongolia, 1990

In the Manifesto of the Green Horse Society, quoted above and written in 1990 when Mongolia was still very much allied to the Soviet system, young artists imagine a future that would enable them to become part of a larger world by liberating identity, vision and desire. In their openness and energy, they seem to have been speaking for all contemporary artists working in the Centre of Asia – at that time and since.

This belief in ritual, in mystery, in the wisdom of the ancient and the infinite capacity of the future, dominates the contemporary artistic output of this region and is vital for an understanding of both artist and works. Similarly, deeper knowledge of the historical and political context of Central Asia is an essential part of further framing the creative impulse. These vast, complex and often inscrutable lands have been subject to persistent imposition and layering of outside perception especially by the blinkered, protected West. From the fabled and ancient Silk Road trails to the manipulation of territories as played out by the British and Russian Empires in the ‘Great Game’, the rich cultural and physical landscapes of Central Asia are often perceived as little more than a black hole. Dismissed as the “Stans”, downgraded to little more than theatres of environmental abuse, religious conflict and war, they are characterized as devoid of contemporary culture, nuance or humanity and processed into the clichés of a “Borat” style, post-Soviet wasteland.

Yet, through the works presented in “Between Heaven and Earth”, the strongest impression is of how people struggle to establish or retain an individual sense of creative integrity at a time when traditional society and its memories are being demolished by economic and political forces far beyond their control.

For these artists, to be rooted in a history and culture that has often been denied or suppressed, means they inevitably must reinvent themselves endlessly, mutating from one form or image to another in ways that defy expectation. In the ancient religion Tengri, Lord of the Heavens, was accompanied by Umai, Mother and Fertility goddess; and my interest was in trying to show the link between the poetic and the prosaic. How these 23 artists and collectives are somehow able to meld the ether of idealism – the rare capability to imagine a more beautiful world in every sense – with a sensual practicality that is savage, earthy and ironical.

It is as though the bubble of a long, deeply submerged memory has suddenly burst through the surface. They have little time for the tragedies of the past, Soviet or otherwise, and their self-assuredness and talent is impressive. In the spirit of their nomadic forebears, they move East and West, between Heaven and Earth, as it suits them, addressing present and future confidently, their lit up faces turned equally towards the rising and setting of the sun.

***Between Heaven and Earth, opens 14 September, 2011 and runs until 13 November 2011 Gallery Opening Hours:
Wednesday-Sunday: 12pm – 6pm
www.calvert22.org