The “Prayer” has been heard in Berlin

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Berlin Academy of Arts is hosting “Unwetter” (Ill Winds) video and sound installation. Among the 12 international artists presenting their works is Alexander Nikolayev, a member of IJOD Association of Artists, Art Critics and Craftsmen of Uzbekistan, with his film “Prayer”.

The project organised jointly by the Goethe-Institut and the Berlin Academy of Arts focuses on climate change and has brought together artists from Holland, Great Britain, Brazil, USA, Spain, Germany, Argentina, South African Republic and Nigeria.

In the video and sound installation “Ill Winds”, which started on 21 April, twelve invited international artists address the topic of climate change. The themes in these works engage with the interaction between nature and human activity, documenting impressions in video works, photography and sound. The power of nature from across the world is presented in a condensed form through acoustic and visual impressions in an installation with 11 screens. The black box as an isolated location in the Academy of Arts basement underlines the radical nature of the climatic changes that impact our lives.

Alexander Nikolayev has participated broadly in the Fund Forum projects such as “Navqiron O’zbekiston” (Young Uzbekistan) Festival of Traditional and Contemporary Art, “Signs of Time” International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, the exhibition marking the first anniversary of IJOD Association, etc.

“Prayer” was first presented in the Venice Biennale in 2007. In 2008, its presentation took place in the 27th Russian Film Festival “Kinoshok”. In Venice, the work was noticed by curators from Brazil and, with Nikolayev’s permission, was included in their festival exposition. He film was then invited to other festivals in Latin America. In March-April 2009, the film was part of a similar project in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Later, in May, it was demonstrated in the Argentinean city of Rosario and in October went to Ecuador to participate in the country’s 10th Biennale.

The main and only character featured in the Prayer is a Muslim man who lives in the mountains, prays, and talks to rocks. The film concludes with the rocks turning into birds that soar, as if taking his prayers into the sky. The question that the author of the film asks himself is “Has his prayer been heard?”

The installation will last till 20 June 2010.