Layers of Time (2022–2026)

This work is my personal reflection on memory, space, and transformation. Photographs that reveal different facets of the life around me—nature, cities, people, everyday moments—are framed by hand-embroidered tush-kiiz created by Kyrgyz women in the mid-20th century. These embroideries have preserved a Soviet form and meaning, while the reality they frame has become capitalist and contemporary. For me, they are not merely visual frames; they are bridges between past and present, tradition and modernity, craft and photography, allowing one to sense layers of time.

This continuing project does not seek “authenticity.” It observes how global processes shape the lives and spaces around us, how memory and tradition collide with modernity, and how they are sometimes lost. The past is fixed as a symbol, while the present absorbs it, turning it into a commodity. The local landscape becomes a mirror where cultural memory confronts digitalization, capital, and consumer standards. And yet, despite this pressure, tradition continues to breathe. Through this work, I share my attentiveness to what remains between past and present, and invite the viewer to reflect on how we might preserve cultural memory and meaning in a world where everything is so easily turned into a commodity.