By Almagul Menlibayeva’s Genius Loci at DIFC Satellite Gallery
In Roman legend, the Genius Loci, is the guardian spirit of sacred sites, historical neighbourhoods and ancient landscapes. Acclaimed Kazakh artist, Almagul Menlibayeva, reinterprets the concept of Genius Loci through a contemporary lens in her solo exhibition at DIFC Satellite Gallery in Dubai. The exhibition held in collaboration with Andakulova Gallery, Dubai and Legend Art Club will be on view until September 3, 2025.
Born in 1969 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Menlibayeva’s oeuvre traverses video, photography, painting, mixed media installations, AI and cyber textiles. An alumnus of the National Academy of Arts and Theatre, Almaty, she was part of the underground collective Green Triangle during the Soviet era. The artist primarily focuses on capturing evolving gender roles, environmental decay, nomadic cosmologies, indigenous mythologies and the Soviet legacy highlighting contemporary social and ecological issues in Central Asia and Kazakhstan.
In Genius Loci, she presents a series of powerful images and videos representing historical sites, mythologies, the Silk Road and femininity. In the Red Butterfly, viewers will see the image of a woman wrapped in swathes of red fabric balancing traditional skull caps on her head, a stark contrast to the historic backdrop of an ancient site in Kazakhstan.
In Ulugh Beg: Intrinsic Futuristic Machine, the artist combines conceptual orbits, utopian skylines and fictional architecture re-imagining the historic observatory of Sultan Mirza Ulugh Beg, the 15th century ruler of Samarkand, also a well-known astronomer.
The Window, yet another striking image from the current exhibition, presents a dual-city perspective juxtaposing the skylines of Dubai’s DIFC on the left and Almaty on the right capturing the contrasts and resonances between the two cultural and economic megacities.
Menlibayeva’s work has been exhibited at prestigious venues across the world. She is also the recipient of numerous accolades. Her retrospective exhibition is due to open at the Almaty Museum of Arts, in September 2025.