Gulnur Mukazhanova
Born in 1984 in Semey, Kazakhstan. She lives and works in Berlin.
Gulnur Mukazhanova works with traditional Central Asian materials, like felt and brocade, subverting its conventional uses in domestic environments by using them to create complex installations and props for her photo and video projects. In her works the focus shifts from the material itself to its performative quality, catching the material in its transitional state. Her home country of Kazakhstan, which itself is in the process of transition, is often a subject of her research into the perspectives of globalization and identity politics. The resulting works have a very strong physical presence and allow the artist to make powerful statements on the state of global affairs through the lens of her own country.
Notable recent exhibitions include The Wind Makes The Sky: La Biennale di Venezia on the traces of Marco Polo at the Ca’ Giustinian in Venice (2024), Eluding Capture: Three Artists From Central Asia at the MAA MoCA in Massachusetts (2024), transfeminism, Chapter IV Care and Kinship at the Mimosa House in London (2024), Racing the Galaxy, Astana Show in Astana (2019), Bread & Roses at the Momentum in Berlin (2018), Post-Nomadic Mind at the Wapping Project in London (2018), 4th International Biennale for Young Art in Moscow (2014) and Central Asia Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale (2007).