Saodat Ismailova - 18,000 Worlds

Only one of eighteen thousand worlds

Central Asia is a crossroads of cultures. In recent history, successive regimes, with accompanying ideologies, have caused much unrest. Ismailova reflects on the resulting loss: loss of culture, languages, generations, landscape and local traditions and customs. At the same time, she shows what has managed to survive in the region: a rich spiritual world and deep connection.

Ismailova is also interested in the history of cinema. She regularly uses found footage in her work: from the very first silent Uzbek films to the Soviet films that were influential in the development of Central Asian cinema. For the new work 18,000 Worlds she also used images from Eye's archive. The title comes from the mystical belief that the world we live in is only one of eighteen thousand worlds that make up the universe.