Portrait of Avar

Artist Statement

The Avars are an ethnic group in Dagestan, to which I belong. The republic of Dagestan became part of Russia in 1860 after the thirty-year Third Russian-Dagestan War, part of the great Caucasian War.

Today, as a result of domestic politics, migrants from the north Caucasus are viewed with prejudice, especially in Moscow. There are many racist killings, and far-right nationalist parties demonstrate with the slogan 'Russia for Russians'.

The media continually refer to 'the Caucasian nationality', drawing no distinction among groups, but Dagestan is home to more then twenty different ethnicities, with 14 recognised state languages.

The videos in this work document a performance in Moscow. For this event, I made a traditional Avar dress out of flesh-coloured material instead of the customary blue or red. I also created latex moulds from traditional jewellery. Dressed in this costume, I travelled on public transport to the exhibition space. I stood there for 30 minutes, mimicking a doll from the ethnographic museum, and then gave away the latex jewellery to the audience. The four videos show my journeys around the city.

Portrait of Avar asks if one is born with a certain identity, or if we can choose how to identify ourselves. What is cultural representation? And what sort of works are expected from an artist with a specific identity?


2013

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 11