Taus Makhacheva, CHARIVARI, 2019, mixed media
Commissioned by YARAT Contemporary Art Space
Architect: Maria Serova
Installation production: Novruz Mammadov
Text: Alexander Snegirev
Costume design: Panika Derevya
Costume production: Panika Derevya, Anastasia Markova, Alina Sarancha, Scenic Costume Studio M’Art, Costume Studio Ginger Rose
Costume production assistants: Daria Komyagina, Ekaterina Lysenko, Hayat Nasirova, Asya Sokolova, Khanim Tapdigova, Arina Umanskaia, Alina Zhamaletdinova
Production: Kristina Cherniavskaia, Sadagat Isayeva
Sound design: Denis Dronov Sound engineer: Maksim Nikolayev, PicMus Production Voice actors: Yury Brezhnev, Kristina Cherniavskaia, Anton Kostochkin, Agniya Kuznetsova, Gladston Makhib, Daria Mazur, Polina Milushkova, Ekaterina Shibayeva, Lubov Tolkalina
Dubbing actors: Renara Shamsiyeva, Patrick Sewell
Research: Vusal Ahmedov, Ulviya Akhundova, Farah Alakbarli, Sanan Baghirov, Kristina Cherniavskaia, Sayara Huseynli, Rizvan Alasgar, Asya Sokolova, Arina Umanskaia
Special thanks to Baku State Circus director Vagif Baghirzade, circus historian Rajab Mamedov, National Archives of the Republic of Azerbaijan director Asger Rasulov, State Archive Center of Moving Image and Photo materials director Vugar Tapdigly, gymnast Tamilla Nazirova, clown Lada Sanatskaya, animal trainers Tofig Akhundov and Rauf Rasulov, director of circus shows and concerts Vladimir Vavilov, archivist Aida Babazade, poet Leyli Salayeva
In this exhibition, Taus Makhacheva – whose varied practice includes performance, film, food and objects – presents a newly commissioned multimedia installation, exploring Caucasus’ contemporaneity through the prism of the circus.Charivari combines large-scale sculpture, immersive sound, dysfunctional yet exuberant and symbolic costumes and fantastical storytelling. Exploring the history of USSR circus tradition in general, and the Baku State Circus in particular, the installation evokes both a carcass of an antiquated circus and a suggestion for an imaginary one.
Despite being a mainstream entertainment, the Soviet Circus provided a comparatively censorship-free environment in which bold and daring statements could be made by means of visual and physical language. Combining fact and fiction, the work uncovers the ever-fluctuating relationship between tradition, modernity and cultural authenticity in this period of transition from the Soviet to post-Soviet paradigm, through to the multiple futures of the post-post-Soviet era.
The term charivari refers to a specific circus act – a mass circus performance composed of solo and group multi-genre pieces presented simultaneously. With every act the rhythm gets faster and the technical complexity of the performance increases, until ultimately the arena becomes full of floating and somersaulting figures. Based on archival records, films and photographs, Makhacheva’s installation similarly creates a chaotic make-believe circus. Appearing through a specially commissioned script and narrated by professional actors the viewers are introduced to a myriad of unusual creatures such as a talking horse, synthetic bears, a sheep inside a gymnast inside a lion, a strongwoman accountant and a fly in a silver cape, to name a few. Acting as a witty and often controversial socio-political propositions, these stories from distant pasts and near futures comment on the all too real circus of contemporary life.
A selection of research archival material from the National Archives of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Baku filial), Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive and other sources will be screened during the opening and closing weekends of the exhibition and available online at https://bit.ly/2SihXLa
Performance novellas by Alexander Snegirev available: https://bit.ly/30wAVjR