18,000 Worlds
January 21–June 4, 2023
Eye Filmmuseum presents 18,000 Worlds, the first major retrospective exhibition by Saodat Ismailova. In 2022, the artist and filmmaker received the Eye Art & Film Prize for her oeuvre, in which she devotes attention to the complex, layered culture of Central Asia.
Born in 1981 in Uzbekistan, Saodat Ismailova portrays the spirit of the region in her films and artworks. In the process, she captures rituals, myths, traditions and landscapes. She focuses strongly on women, who play a key role in maintaining cultural and spiritual heritage, because stories and customs are passed down from mother to daughter for generations. This aspect of history has remained underexposed and is in danger of disappearing rapidly. Ismailova keeps this intangible heritage alive with her work, using memory as a tool for healing. Weaving myths, rituals and dreams with everyday life, Ismailova subtly calls attention to societal issues such as the position of women and the disappearance of ecosystems. The turbulent political history of the region is never far away. Central Asia forms a cultural crossroads. Successive regimes, with their accompanying ideologies, belief systems and artificial borders, have caused unrest. Ismailova reflects on the resulting loss of culture, languages, generations, landscapes and local traditions and customs. At the same time, she shows what has survived in the region: a rich spiritual world and deep sense of connection.
Ismailova also has a great interest in the history of film. In her work she regularly uses found footage: from the earliest silent Uzbek films to the Soviet films that influenced the development of Central Asian cinema. For 18,000 Worlds, her latest work, she also incorporated footage from the Eye collection. The title comes from the mystical belief that the world in which we live is just one of the 18,000 worlds that make up the universe.
About the artist
Saodat Ismailova lives and works in Tashkent and Paris. She is recognized as an important voice of the first generation of Central Asian artists who came of age in the post-Soviet era. She studied at the Tashkent State Art Institute and Le Fresnoy in France. In 2004 her documentary Aral. Fishing in an Invisible Sea (which she made with Carlos Casas) won Best Documentary at the Turin Film Festival. Her feature film 40 Days of Silence (Chilla, 2014), supported by Cinefoundation, premiered at Berlinale Forum and was selected for Cannes Film Festival. In 2013 she presented her first video installation at the Venice Biennale, and in 2022 her work was selected for The Milk of Dreams, the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. In response to her selection for Documenta fifteen, she initiated research group Davra to support, develop and empower voices from Central Asia. Works by Ismailova are in the collections of museums including Centre Pompidou, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Almaty Museum of Modern Art.
Publication, films, talks, and events
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive publication, made in collaboration with the artist and published by Eye Filmmuseum and naioıo publishers, Rotterdam. Beyond the walls of the exhibition space, 18,000 Worlds extends with a wide ranging program of public events. For this, Ismailova selected notable films from Central Asia. There are also special evening events with speakers and film screenings. Related films are also available on the Eye Film Player. For more information, go to eyefilm.nl/saodatismailova.
