Saule Dyussenbina: Kazakh Funny Games and New Mythologies,
Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University
September 7-December 10, 2022
Free opening reception: Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 5pm-7pm

Curated by Jinyoung A. Jin, Saule Dyussenbina: Kazakh Funny Games and New Mythologies traces complex Central Asian geopolitics, history, traditions, and USSR memories through the works of Saule Dyussenbina. The former USSR-born Kazakh artist encapsulates the cultural diversity and multifaceted political history of Kazakhstan, and she produces new narratives and myths through unexpected juxtapositions and fragmented images.

From digital wallpaper to dinner plates, Dyussenbina sprinkles a sense of humor in her artworks while paying homage to European master artists such as Goya and Van Gogh, to indigenous nomadic Kazakhstan cultures, and to post-Soviet politics. She remixes motifs from traditional European ornaments, Kazakh folk culture (like ram horns, horses, and eagle hunters), architectural remains from the Soviet era, and icons of contemporary society (Chanel logos, surveillance cameras) and repeats them kaleidoscopically. Dazzling flies, flowers, horses, and cameras symbolize the collapse and rise of ubiquitous urban iconographies and repetitive failure in contemporary society.

Read more and hear the Audio Tour, click here.