Environmental temporalities in contemporary visual art from Central Asia

Speaker: Fabienne Rachmadiev (University of Amsterdam)

Convenor: Dr Darya Tsymbalyuk (St Antony's)

In this talk I will focus on contemporary art and ecology in the context of Central Asia – a geography that has seen devastating ecological disasters, such as the desiccation of the Aral Sea, extensive nuclear testing on the steppe, as well as ongoing extraction and contamination. Under this environmental damage lie histories that are distinct as well as similar to extraction and pollution on marginalised people’s lands elsewhere, putting these lands at great and continuous risk of climate emergencies. 

Central Asia, once deemed peripheral to the imperial core, knows histories of Russian and Soviet imperialism and colonialism. Since independence coal, natural gas, and crude oil have been sources of income as well as sites of contestation for the biggest players of the fossil fuel industry. Central Asia also holds vast reserves of minerals, including those sought after for the ‘green’ energy transition. The art works I will show, ranging from video to performance, offer different spaces of reflection and approaches to think with these complex environmental temporalities.