Steppe Synanthropies: Data Tapestry

She employs traditional Turkmen folk techniques of embroidery and patchwork to reuse and upcycle household objects and textiles pieces woven together with protective talismans and field research accoutrement.

In this exhibition, maşyn başlyk is presented as the düýe başlyk and düýe dyzlyk camel trappings’ designed successor. From all-terrain camel transportation to 4x4 off-road vehicles, this handcrafted protective tech gear is adapted to the transhumance experiences of life in Central Asia’s harsh environments and extreme weather.

Steppe Synanthropies: Data Tapestry builds on the ground truth established in Extant Across Continents to tell the story of local wildlife conservationists who are often invisible but always on the frontlines of environmental stewardship.

Selbi Jumayeva (b. 1986, Ashgabat) is a transdisciplinary researcher, curator and artist, using documentary photography, ethnography, and applied ecology. Her research focuses on desert futures, socio-ecological systems, and planetary boundaries. Currently, Selbi is designing cultural and natural heritage programs for environmental, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation work in Turkmenistan and the larger Central Asian neighborhood. As a curator and artist, Selbi explores multispecies relations and traditional ecological knowledge(s), preserves her Yomud tribal kinship’s narratives and artifacts, and documents Central Asian quotidien and Turkmen intellectual history.

As a curator and artist, Selbi explores multispecies relationships and traditional ecological knowledge, preserves the narratives and artifacts of her Yomud tribal community, and documents everyday life in Central Asia as well as the history of Turkmen thought.

Curated by Alisa Verbina.

Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA)