Page 81 - Steppe - Aigana Gali

If you see Aigana’s painting
Aral it is quite the opposite. Saturated with brilliant ultramarine hues, the work is alive with the freshness of circulating
water; it celebrates a health giving shift in both the actual place, parts of which are now being restored after decades of degradation, and in the artist’s relationship with her country - and keys us into a contemporaneous awareness of ecological issues.
Abstracted thus, we can appreciate a purity in her relationship to the land, behind which is an abiding sense that the steppe belongs to those who look after it. It is a perspective that is at once liberating and engenders a deep sense of responsibility. In some ways, these works present a philosophical overview; they encourage a shift in perspective, a standing back to see the true essence of things, beyond border politics.
“In 2015 I took 40 paintings of Steppe I took back to Tbilisi, Georgia, to the National Museum for a solo exhibition. I opened my talk by saying that my mother was exiled to Kazakhstan and my whole family suered for it, but I love this country and my land. I am a true child of the Georgian mountains and the Kazakh steppe and I am bringing my Steppe back to Georgia. That was a very symbolic moment, it showed me that art is very much beyond politics - it will find a way to blossom, no matter how hard.”
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