Almagul Menlibayeva

Menlibayeva edited several recordings of performances on the barren plains of southern Kazakhstan into two new short films (On The Range and I Will Never Forget This).

"Steppen Baroque" / "Stepowy barok"

In her video performances Almagul Menlibayeva, an artist from Kazakhstan, employs the language of so-called Romantic Punk Shamanism to express her vision and understanding of the surrounding world. It is a very precise and advanced language of creative expression, which brings a balanced harmony between Islamic culture’s tradition of belonging and contemporary Art…

The notion of female identity is fundamental to Menlibayeva’s work which consists of graphics, painting, performance and video art. She draws from the traditions of her Kazakh culture, including shamanism, the Sufi religion and animism – the belief that natural objects have souls. She knowingly unites these traditions with the ‘traditions’ and ‘vocabulary’ of Western art, creating a harmony between often conflicting cultures…