Central Asia
11 artists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Curators: Boris Chukhovich, Georgy Mamedov, Oksana Shatalova. Palazzo Malipiero.
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Our Friend Va Ngog. 2009
Video, 20:40 min
A video essay about a Vietnamese artist – a participant of an artist-in-residence in the USA, - who does not speak English. The main motive of the film is the protagonist’s silence and his non-verbal attempts to establish communication with other residents. The silence of Va Ngog is perceived as dumbness, as a physical disability, and the attempts to overcome it cause deep emotions, condescension or sadness. However this perception is generated by the situation itself, when art is made to function as an international environment, which doesn’t seem to be comfortable and welcoming for everyone. Art cannot cope with its role of a universal language, since the universals of art, be it medial or expositional are not sufficient. Here we can recall the famous 'motto' of the Croatian artist Mladen Stilinović: "An artist who cannot speak English is no artist."
(From the official website)
© Stills: Adis Seitaliev
Repro: Haupt & Binder
11 artists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Curators: Boris Chukhovich, Georgy Mamedov, Oksana Shatalova. Palazzo Malipiero.