MQ Artist-in-Residence Selbi Jumayeva | Steppe Synanthropies: Data Tapestry

12.02. – 31.05.2026 | MQ Pop-Up Schauraum,
free admission
OpeningWed 11.02.2026, 18h 
together with other MQ Showrooms

In Steppe Synanthropies: Data Tapestry, MQ Artist-in-Residence Selbi Jumayeva uses traditional Turkmen crafts and techniques such as jewellery making, embroidery and patchwork to create elaborate and complex artistic textiles that envelop, protect and adorn people, domestic animals and livestock. Such handmade, mobile and functional garments and technologies are a necessary adaptation to the harsh climate and extreme weather conditions of Central Asia, which have developed from the coexistence of humans and animals. The designed and assembled tapestries are sewn together, embroidered and decorated with various artefacts that document and honour everyday realities, livelihoods and ways of life.

Selbi Jumayeva (born 1986 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) is a transdisciplinary researcher, curator and artist. In her curatorial and artistic work, she explores cross-species relationships and traditional ecological knowledge, preserves the narratives and artefacts of her Yomud tribe, and documents everyday life in Central Asia and the intellectual history of Turkmenistan.

Curated by Alisa Verbina