Almagul Menlibayeva

Foxy Charms. 2010. Courtesy of Priska C. Juschka Fine Art

The Observer. 2010. Courtesy of Priska C. Juschka Fine Art

Steppen Police. 2010. Courtesy of Priska C. Juschka Fine Art

ALMAGUL MENLIBAYEVA installing her work at Muhka


In the Steppes of her native Kazakhstan, ALMAGUL MENLIBAYEVA stages and films complex mythological narratives, with reference to her own nomadic heritage and the Shamanistic traditions of the cultures of Central Asia.

However, her work combines not only an interest in regional traditions but also a critique of official identity politics. She bases this criticism on the idea of nomadic pastoralism, the traditional way of life that distinguishes the history and culture of the Central Asian peoples.

In my video performances I employ the language of so-called Romantic Punk Shamanism to express my vision and understanding of the surrounding world. Romantic Punk Shamanism is a bearer of an animistic philosophy born in the depth of my culture’s heart that wants to impart its legacy to the globalized technological society.

ALMAGUL MENLIBAYEVA currently lives and works in Berlin and Amsterdam. She studied at the Academy of Art and Theatre in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and her work has been the subject of numerous international solo and group exhibitions, such as the Sydney Biennial of Contemporary Art and the Venice Biennale.



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