Gulnara KASMALIEVA & Muratbek DJUMALIEV

Began collaborating in 1998 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Kasmalieva and Djumaliev employ media including photography, film, and performance to capture and convey the politically and economically harsh realities of life in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, where traditional nomadic lifestyles underwent drastic change, first transformed under former Soviet Communist rule and today tossed by the winds of global capitalism. Their works focusing on the present-day state of the ancient Silk Road that passes through Kyrgyzstan and into China depict the agonies of collective paranoia, doubt, and disappointment that this environment causes with minimal yet poetic narrative structures and music, effectively deployed with severe yet beautiful results. Kasmalieva and Djumaliev also run the Art East art center in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek and are actively engaged in curation, art education, and support for other artists.