A personal exhibition by Swiss artist Peter Ershmann has opened at the ARTepa Art Gallery in Tashkent's Astronomy Park. Titled 'Puppets', the exhibition is organized under the 'Art Station: Crossroads of Freedom of Speech, Artistic Creativity, Inclusive Dialogue and Community Development' project, in partnership with the Central Asian Art and Culture Program (CAACP) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change also provided support.
The exhibition explores humanity's relationship with technology, nature, and the environment. The gallery space features a series of video installations in the format of tableaux vivants — 'living pictures'. Through visual art and puppet imagery, the artist investigates themes of consumption, ecological instability, detachment from the digital world, and growing social isolation.
Project curator Dona Kulmatova noted that the artist uses video installations to depict the repetitive scenarios of modern life, human impact on ecology, and the consequences of recurring mistakes. 'Peter Ershmann has been working in video installation for over twenty years. He creates digital tableaux vivants — unique 'living pictures' where characters repeatedly perform the same actions and routine tasks. This evokes the daily rituals of modern life and becomes a metaphor for systems affecting humans — technology, social norms, economic processes, and ecological changes,' she said.
At the opening, Chairman of the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change Aziz Abdukhakimov emphasized that the exposition is not only about art but also about everyone's habits. 'The image of puppets symbolizes that people sometimes live in a pattern, in a whirlpool of daily habits, without noticing how their actions and choices affect society and the environment,' he stated.
The exhibition features video installations such as 'The Boat', 'The Invisible', 'The Garden', 'The Meadow', and 'Snowballs'. According to the artist, his works do not convey specific information but rather create an inspiring platform for meetings, discussions, and reflection. The exhibition runs until July 31, with free admission.
Source: www.gazeta.uz