Gulnur Mukazhanova
While studying at the Faculty of Applied Arts in Kazakhstan and textile and surface design in Berlin Weißssensee after trying different techniques, I chose to work with felt and textiles as lurex, silk, velour. The endless felting process gives me a strong feeling and connection to the nomadic roots of my ancestors. Continuing my studies in Berlin, comparing European and Asian cultures, I began to question issues such as traditional cultural values, identity, feminism, globalization.
With time I understood that the process of felting and pimpling pins on lurex fabrics corresponds to the conceptual idea of the main theme of my artistic activity. For me, it is important to continue the traditional technique of felting, improve it and explore new possibilities.
My works are a reflection of our Kazakh society. They try to critically illuminate the tensions between the individual, the post nomadic developed identity, and the alienation through global information- and media society
False HOPE OR THE MOMENT OF THE PRESENT, 2018
Fabric, mixed media
Collection of the artist
This labyrinth of shiny fabric is a metaphor for the disjunction between the visible world, or presentable ideal and the reality. These types of fabrics are often used as gifts during weddings and other celebrations in Kazakhstan, but often just passed from hands to hands, because even though they are bright, they are not particularly practical. Therefore gifts, just like exchange of information in the modern world, often become superficial and illusionary. The use of fabric that is similar or resembling silk is also symbolic – a new silk road is now a ‘polyester’ road – where both materials and human interactions are simulated.
