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Soz Joq / Speechless

Video performance

2017 / 2022

The video features an 8-minute long performative action of stitching and unstitching the phrase Soz Joq (No words left) in Kazakh in three alphabets: Arabic, Latin and Cyrillic. It is a reference to the change of alphabet performed by the Soviet government in 1929 - 1940 in Kazakhstan as part of cultural politics in the region. As soon as the phrase is done, I begin to undo it. In the end, only the plain fabric remains, with the traces of manipulation invisible to the bare eye.

Asel Kadyrkhanova Speechless, video performance, video still, 2017

Speechless / Soz Joq, video still, 2017

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