Mumtoz Kamolzoda

Nikoh Experimental doc. | dv | colour | 3'37'' | Tajikistan | 2007 © One of the most ancient ceremonies still takes place in the Pamirs - called “the Roof of the World” because they represent an elevated plateau, connecting India, China and Turkistan. If a woman, who was about to marry, loses her husband before the wedding, she will first have to marry a tree before she can ever marry another man. The bride goes to the tree where her relatives prepare the wedding ceremony. According to customs, after such a wedding the woman is released from a bad aura. Mumtoz Kamolzoda was born in 1987 in Tajikistan. The artist is fluent in Tajik, Russian, English and Chinese and has a very good level of German, French and Hindi. From 2007 to 2008, Kamolzoda was a Teacher of Chinese language at the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University. From 2003 to 2008, Kamoldoza was editor at the Department of Cultural Programs for Tajik Television. Artist statement My interest in fine arts dates back to my childhood years, when I was involved with this wonderful world through my parents. My mother is a surrealist painter and my father paints miniatures. I have always loved reading books about artists and often visited art exhibitions. I entered Art School where I learnt art history, drawing, painting, etc. However, my parents did not prevent me from learning what I wanted but asked me to choose also another profession that brings financial security. Following their wishes I started to study languages. Learning languages was easy for me and I have won in many competitions and Olympiads. Even though, I was still interested in arts and tried my best to achieve my goal, which is to become a professional artist. Since I have bought my first camera I have never parted with it. When I have free day I like to go out to the streets and markets or outside of a city, looking for something interesting and unusual. I like to work with a clear concept in mind, but sometimes I just take a photo or make a video, because scenery is amazing or event is impressing. From 2003-2008, I was studying Chinese at the Russian Tajik Slavonic University. In the second year I received a one-year scholarship at the Beijing Language and Culture University. It was a great opportunity for me to learn about Chinese culture. While being in China, I got acquainted with contemporary art including video art, performance art, body art etc., which I had never encountered in my country. It had impacted my life very much. After returning from China I joined a group of international artists going to the Pamir Mountains for Natur-Art exhibition. This group helped me a lot in clarifying what contemporary art really is and I made my first photo art-works and video art-work - Nikoh. I took part in several international and local photo and video exhibitions and public art symposium. Participation in these exhibitions gave me a lot of knowledge and experience. During my creative work I made a lot of photo works, installations, performances and video-works. List of exhibition, filmography... Exhibitions: International exhibition “NaturArt” Pamir, Tajikistan August 2007 Exhibition “Pamir – next day…” Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2007 Tashkent Biennale, Uzbekistan 2007 International exhibition “Hub-Gud”, project “Unified space” Austria-Tajikistan 2007 Exhibition “Feminine Art” Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2008 International exhibition “Tadsch:Au” Vienna, Austria 2008 http://www.tadsch-au.net/Artists.html International public art symposium “Oi” Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 2008 http://publicartbishkek.blogspot.com/ Photography workshop and exhibition "My oasis of silence" New-Delhi, India 2008 Publications: Journal "Dusti" #7 2008 "Gender and Art in Tajikistan" Journal “Dusti” #10 2006 “Television is my life style” Journal “Bokhtariana” December 2005 – “The look from the sky” Journal “Bokhtariana” July- June 2005 – “Portrait of Pierre Andrieu, ambassador of France in Tajikistan” Filmography: Nikoh 2007 Liberation 2007 Eternity 2007 No fruits 2008 Search.Austria 2008 Upstairs 2008 Search.Kyrgyzstan 2008 Swing 2008 homepage