Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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In Berlin, the total installation “ღ” (pronounced as "ghani") by Kazakhstani artist Anna Kin was presented. The project was displayed at Hotel Continental – Art Space in Exile and was part of the alternative program of Berlin Art Week, attracting significant interest from professionals, as reported by Azerbaijani curator and international cultural manager Zuleykha Ibad, Azernews reports.

"The installation explores anti-colonial language politics through letter forms, sounds, and gestures. The main idea is that language carries historical memory, political pressure, and at the same time cultural resilience," noted Z. Ibad.

The project brought together alphabets from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and North Africa. It demonstrated how, within the context of empires, colonialism, and migration, languages are subjected to suppression, alteration, and marginalization. The installation included multi-channel videos, laser-cut and suspended letters, and sound fragments. All of this prompted the viewer to reflect on memory, identity, and power. The project explored the alphabet, sound, and systems.

"Language is both a weapon and a healing force. It can be used on a state level to incite hatred, but it can also manifest as prayer," emphasized Anna Kin.

As part of the project, a public program titled "Listening to Stories" was presented, expanding the understanding of language beyond the alphabet to include forms of sound, body, and systems of power.

The program included two main events. Turkish artist Dr. Banu Çiçek Tüylü, in her presentation "Queering Sound: Language Beyond Words and the Body," introduced sound as an alternative to written language and the collective experience of listening. Ukrainian artist Mykola Karabynovych, in his seminar "Golden Field of Fabric: L - Labubu, C - Curtis Yarvin and the Hidden Repository in the Work Center," critiqued bureaucratic and ideological structures through "language systems," digital platforms, and collage techniques.

The installation "ღ" is not limited to an artistic presentation; it creates a dialogue between the artist, the viewer, and various linguistic, cultural, and historical contexts. Special attention is given to the interactive piece "Pronounce Your Alphabet," where visitors, speaking into a microphone, pronounced their alphabets in any language and any order, forming a collective sound collage within the space.