TAUS MAKHACHEVA CHARIVARI YARAT Contemporary Art Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan July 12 – October 6, 2019 (preview July 11) Film still from the documentary ‘National circus’ (1967). Courtesy Krasnogorsk Film Archive YARAT Contemporary Art Space announces a solo exhibition from multidisciplinary artist Taus Makhacheva, running 12 July – 6 October 2019. Living and working in her hometown of Moscow, Makhacheva’s varied practice includes installation, performance and film. The exhibition borrows its title from a circus term used to describe the haphazard, unchoreographed act involving all performers, which often marks the grand finale. Within this content, at YARAT the artist presents an interactive multimedia installation exploring Azerbaijani contemporaneity, through newly commissioned works detailing the USSR Circus tradition and wider concepts of history making. Key reference points include the story of the Berberov family, who once lived in Baku with their pet lion, King I. Achieving fame across the Soviet Union following a movie role, the lion was then mistakenly shot dead by a policeman. The exhibition also draws inspiration from the 1967 Soviet Circus documentary ‘National Circus’, investigating the representation of Soviet republics through distinct performance groups such as Azerbaijan’s Nazirov gymnastic group, the Uzbek clown Akram Yusupov and the Tashkenbaev family of tightrope walkers. The Soviet circus was a censorship-free and even anarchic space, almost out of regime control. While being part of the cultural underground, it remained a form of mainstream entertainment showing the connection between freedom in circus space and postmodern theorist Susan Melrose’s concept of theatre depoloticization. Through its unpicking of fact and fiction around the shared histories, the exhibition furthers Makhacheva’s ongoing interrogation into the lasting tensions between tradition, modernity and cultural authenticity from the transitional period of the Soviet into the post-Soviet landscape, towards the post post-Soviet futures. *** This exhibition is curated by Suad Garayeva Maleki. *** About the Artist Taus Makhacheva (b.1983, lives and works in Moscow, Russia) is known predominantly for her performance and video works that critically examine what happens when different cultures and traditions come into contact with one another. Having grown up in Moscow with cultural origins in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, her artistic practice is informed by this personal connection with the co-existing worlds of pre and post Sovietisation. Oftentimes humorous, her works attempt to test the resilience of images, objects and bodies in today’s world. Taus has a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths (2007) and MFA from Royal College of Art (2013). Selected exhibitions include Liverpool Biennial (2018), Yinchuan Biennale (2018), Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (2018), Venice Biennial (2017); Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art (Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, 2017); Museum ON/OFF (Centre Pompidou, 2016); Shanghai Biennial (2016); Kyiv Biennial (2015); Moscow Biennale (2015 and 2011); Sharjah Biennial (2013). Awarded by 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art Foundation Prize (Moscow, 2015), “Future of Europe” Prize, Museum of Contemporary Art, Leipzig, (2014) and the “New Generation – Innovation” State Prize (2012). *** Notes to editors: Exhibition: Taus Makhacheva: Charivari Location: YARAT Contemporary Art Centre, (Near National Flag Square), Bayil, AZ1003 Dates: July 12 – October 6, 2019 Preview: July 11, 2019 Exhibition opens: Tuesday through Sunday, from 12:00 – 20:00 Admission is free *** About YARAT YARAT is an artist-founded, not-for-profit art organisation based in Baku, Azerbaijan, established by Aida Mahmudova in 2011. YARAT (which means 'create' in Azerbaijani) is dedicated to contemporary art with a long-term commitment to creating a hub for artistic practice, research, thinking and education in the Caucasus, Central Asia and surrounding region. YARAT comprises YARAT Art Centre, ARTIM Project Space, YARAT Studios, YAY Gallery and an extended educational and public programme. YARAT Art Centre, a 2000m² converted Soviet-era naval building, opened in March 2015 and is the organisation's main exhibition space. The exhibition programme features new commissions by artists responding to the region. It supports and provides access to artists from the region, while engaging and introducing established, international artists. In October 2015, YARAT opened ARTIM, a central, accessible and dynamic space in Baku's Old City. ARTIM (meaning 'progress' in Azerbaijani) shows experimental practices and new work by emerging Azeri art professionals (selected through open call) and the international artists from the residency programme. It features multiple small-scale projects each year and hosts ARTIM LAB, a programme enabling young artists to engage in workshops and daily studio practice to generate new ideas and works. In 2016 YARAT launched a renewed residency programme. Aimed at developing young Azerbaijani voices and emerging international artists, the focus is on new, innovative practices and artists with an interest in the region. The residency programme hosts 6 international and 4 local artists a year at YARAT Studios’ spaces. Education has been at the heart of YARAT's activities since its creation. With a dedicated public programme that includes courses, workshops, lectures, screenings, festivals, literature and theatre clubs and family weekends, YARAT aims to give access to broad audiences of all ages. The public programme invests proactively in building communities and nurturing a wider understanding of, and participation in, contemporary art. *** For media and image inquiries please contact: Milly Carter Hepplewhite and Lisa Hopf at Pelham Communications Telephone: +44 2089693959 Email: [email protected] and [email protected] .