Nonlocality
The exhibition features artists who use felt, wool, and traditional craft techniques as their primary materials to explore themes of memory and identity. By deeply engaging with the traditional techniques of their local cultures and ancestors, each artist addresses the interaction between nature and humans. Animism becomes an important part of almost any southern or nomadic culture, simultaneously raising important ecological issues and concerns.
Inspired by the ancient nomadic past of the Tatars, Nazilya Nagimova turns to wool, a traditional material of her Tatar ancestors. Nomin Zezegmaa combines material craft techniques with questions of Mongolian shamanism and cosmology. Likewise, Adrian Pepe, who works with the wool of Awassi sheep, the most popular and ancient sheep breed in the Middle East, references the legend of Babylon as the capital of weaving. For Adrian Pepe, wool, with its changing shades from ochre to chestnut, not only celebrates ancient craft traditions but also creates a deep connection with the earth, where the material becomes a blank canvas on which symbolism, myths, and emotions come to life. Gegee Ayurzana work focuses on paintings that break away from traditional frames, created on (semi) transparent veils that appear to float freely and without boundaries, challenging our perception of real and imagined spaces. The motifs in these forms draw inspiration from the imagery and materiality of traditional Mongolian folk culture. In general her practice offers a contemporary reflection on themes raised by radical modernist painting, particularly regarding the autonomy of art and its formal and symbolic significance.
In traditional cultures, where applied and fine arts often intersect, rigid boundaries between art, craft, and history are blurred. This diasporic non-locality serves as a metaphor for the deep interaction between the material and the immaterial, between reality and myth. The works in the show create a space where ancient mytho-epic images and contemporary concepts merge, opening new ways of understanding and interaction.
