From September 17 to 19, the second 'Yonar' art camp took place in the Borsakelmas salt flat in Karakalpakstan. The event, conceptually similar to the famous Burning Man international festival held in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, was organized by the team of the 'Stikhiya' electronic music, art, and science festival with support from the Tourism Committee.
This year's theme of 'Yonar' was dreams, surrealism, and the space between reality and imagination. According to the organizers, the Borsakelmas salt flat itself, with its 'almost infinite white expanse and horizon,' became an ideal place for artistic expression and for creating a temporary creative space — the 'White Salt City' — which the art project participants built themselves and inhabited for three days.
The second 'Yonar' welcomed 70 participants from Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. Among them were artists, musicians, architects, designers, researchers, IT specialists, and entrepreneurs. Life in the art space was built around mutual assistance and each participant's contribution to the common area. Whether it was creating and installing art objects, cooking, music sessions, or other activities, everything was done collectively. In addition, participants flew kites, observed the night sky with an astronomy club, and organized various performances.
Art objects created by Rustam Zakhidov, Ruslan Yuldashev, Anatoly Babakhanyan, Ravshan Babadjanov, Said Isayev, Nikita Klochkov, Otabek Suleymanov, and Derya Odjal (Turkey) were installed in Borsakelmas. These included the installations 'Molecule,' 'Android,' 'Mirror Cube,' 'Red Parallelepiped,' 'UFO,' 'Scorpion,' and 'Mars.' The symbolic burning of two art objects was the final part of the event.
A distinctive feature of 'Yonar' is the absence of commercial trade and brands on the territory, as well as adherence to the leave no trace principle: after people leave, the salt flat must remain as it was before the participants arrived. The project's final report noted that the area was completely cleared of temporary infrastructure and household waste. The White Salt City disappeared as if it had never existed. The 'Yonar' team promises to return to Borsakelmas next year.
Source: www.gazeta.uz