Film by Alexander Ugay at Centre Pompidou.

Screening and discussion of Central Asian videos and films took place at the Centre Pompidou on the 12th of April, which were curated by Dilda Ramazan (Kazakh curator). The idea was to bring together historical and recent works from the Central Asia region. Alexander Ugay's seminal piece, "Earth and Shape," was shown alongside the works of young artists. The film is a part of the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou.

‍

The video ”Earth and Shape” is a video-collage combines disparate spaces in a single plan. In this plan there is no east and west or north and south. Moving through different countries the camera captures spaces, architectural shapes and the situation, containing layers of memory and desire.

‍

Taking various shots of landscapes from different cities, including Astana, Karaganda, Almaty, Tashkent, St Petersburg, Seoul, Istanbul, and Sophia, Ugay moves his camera through different countries to capture spaces, architectural shapes, and other situations that contain layers of memory and desire. Giant, phantomlike figures appear, eerily resembling monuments of the past: ziggurats, towers, pyramids, and antique temples, to warn of history’s tendency to repeat. For Ugay, the situation is ambiguous. He considers the complexity of space and memory in relation to society as well as the links, both weak and strong, that are created through the presence and absence of such things.

‍

Works from Obscuration series by Alexander Ugay is on display at NIKA Project Space till the 23d of April.

‍

‍

‍

‍