Beginning in the middle: conversations on the post-Soviet

Abstract

"Beginning in the Middle, Conversations on the Post-Soviet, edited and compiled by Elsbeth Dekker and Robbie Schweiger, explores the works, lives and travels of artists coming from a (post-) Soviet context. The conversations delve deeper into questions of art and (de)colonisation in countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, most of which recently celebrated their 30th anniversary of independence. Departing from Dutch collections and exhibitions, the conversations try to grapple with questions on the meaning and relationships that these artworks and artists are enabling. Touching upon various notions of time, space and perception, it wonders how to include other stories and voices into Dutch collections and Western stories of art. Three travelogues by Furqat Palvan-Zade take these conversations to another time and place - all the way across Eurasia and back to the Netherlands."--Publisher's website https://www.japsambooks.nl/products/beginning-in-the-middle, viewed 02/15/2023.

Contents

Introduction -- A conversation with Saodat Ismailova: You cannot fight against invisible knowledge, 19 March 2021 -- A conversation with Taus Makhacheva: Beginning in the middle, 5 April 2021 -- A conversation with Babi Badalov: I have a scream, 25 June 2021 -- A conversation with Almagul Menlibayeva: Beyond the construction, 16 June 2021 -- A conversation with Yerbossyn Meldibekov: Time can be a ball in a curved space, 13 July 2021 -- A conversation with Alexander Ugay: An unknown return, 17 September 2021 -- A conversation with Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev: Without a final station, 24 January 2022 -- A kitchen conversation with Umida Akhmedova: My mother often recalled Navruz, 3 August 2020 / written down by Maria Mkrtycheva -- Travels across Eurasia: Amsterdam, Baku, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Termez / by Furqat Palvan-Zade.