Taus Makhacheva

Canal Projects is pleased to present the U.S. premiere of Taus Makhacheva’s newest film Цlумихъ (Tsumikh – Avar for “At the Eagle’s”). In the film, Makhacheva interrogates the fraught relationship between personal and public memory by revisiting how her late grandfather, Rasul Gamzatov (b. 1923, d. 2003)––a celebrated Soviet poet––is remembered.

Taking place in a set that is repeatedly constructed and deconstructed, Makhacheva’s childhood recollections of her grandfather meet the manifestation of Gamzatov’s public identity. Over the course of the film, it is subtly revealed how these remembrances are at odds with one another. The film stages the sculptural busts, archives, documents and newspapers used to memorialize Gamzatov’s life and legacy, contrasting these with the mementos and personal stories of his family.

Makhacheva is herself featured in the film as she rehearses for the impossible task of being cast as her grandfather. Her character is presented through a series of encounters and scenarios where a polyphony of voices lay claim to Gamzatov’s memory ranging from art handlers to a van driver, a make-up artist to a choreographer, a museum director to police officers, all of whom have something to retell about the poet.

The film is titled Цlумихъ after the plateau in Dagestan where it was shot, which is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Languages of the film are Avar and Russian. The film will be screened from September 22nd to December 16th, 2023.

The film made its world premiere at the Gwangju Bienniale in 2023, and is supported by Sharjah Art Foundation Production Grant, Sharjah and the Patrons Group at the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Taus Makhacheva (b. 1983, Moscow) creates works that explore the restless connections between historical narratives and fictions of cultural authenticity. Often humorous, her art considers the resilience of images, objects and bodies emerging out of stories and personal experiences. Her methodology involves reworking of materials, landscapes and monuments, pushing against walls, opening up ceilings and proliferating institutional spaces with a cacophony of voices. Makhacheva holds a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths (2007) and has an MFA from the Royal College of Art (2013).

Selected exhibitions include the Gwangju Biennale (2023), Biennial of Difficult Heritage (2021), the Yokohama Triennale (2020), Lahore Biennale (2020), Kaunas Biennial (2019), Lyon Biennale (2019), Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (2018), Liverpool Biennial (2018), Manifesta (2018), Yinchuan Biennale (2018), Venice Biennale (2017), Garage Triennial of Russian Contemporary Art (2017), Shanghai Biennale (2016), Kyiv Biennial (2015), Sharjah Biennial (2013) and the Moscow Biennale (2011). Selected сollections include the Centre Pompidou (Paris); The P. S. Gamzatova Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts (Makhachkala); Kadist Art Foundation (Paris, San Francisco); Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Moscow); Museum of Modern Art (Antwerp); Sharjah Art Foundation (Sharjah); Tate Modern (London); Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven).