Saodat Ismailova. A seed under our tongue

Pirelli HangarBicocca presents "A Seed Under Our Tongue," the first Italian survey of Saodat Ismailova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 1981. Lives and works between Paris and Tashkent), one of the most acclaimed contemporary artists of the new generation, working at the intersection of cinema, sound and visual art. Her films and installations, with their striking iconography and hypnotic narratives, evoke the power of nature, the legacy of colonization, and the delicate relationship between humanity and the environment. Exploring collective memory, ancestral knowledge and the representation of femininity, they draw on the socio-political and cultural heritage of her native Central Asia to reflect on universal values.

With new works commissioned by Pirelli HangarBicocca, the exhibition marks the first institutional survey of Saodat Ismailova in Italy. It presents works from her two-decade career, including films, sculptures, and installations, in a specially designed spatial environment. Focusing on the concept and implications of transmission-whether of knowledge, stories, memories or landscapes-the exhibition conjures up different narratives, creating a complex and multi-layered atmosphere. Visitors are immersed in the cultural, social and political realities of Central Asia through an intricate layering of memories, landscapes, personal and collective images and time.