In collaboration with the Botanical Garden of the University of Bern (BOGA), we are delighted to present a sound installation by Saodat Ismailova in the Steppe House (Steppenhaus). The recordings were made in the Arslanbob forest in southern Kyrgyzstan, a walnut forest spanning more than 60,000 hectares.

Since 2022, Ismailova has travelled repeatedly to this remote region, where communities have lived in close relation to the forest and its harvest for generations. The site’s enduring associations with mysticism and hallucinogenic effects provide Ismailova with a point of entry into the complex political histories and contested narratives of Central Asia, which also inform her solo exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern.

Every two hours, on the hour between 8 am and 5 pm, visitors are invited to encounter an interplay between the soundscape of the Arslanbob forest and the living environment of BOGA’s Steppe House.

Adress
Botanical Garden of the University of Bern
Altenbergrain 21
3013 Bern