The Baltic Gateshead has presented the first solo UK exhibition of Uzbek artist and film-maker Saodat Ismailova, titled As We Fade. The show immerses visitors in a dark room with a padded black square at its centre, inviting them to sit or lie down and contemplate the void—a concept that has fascinated Ismailova throughout her two-decade career.
Four film works are arranged around the space, each interweaving themes of elemental forces, subconscious exploration, and Central Asian history. The eponymous piece As We Fade is projected through 24 suspended silk panels, a nod to Uzbekistan's historic role on the Silk Road and the standard 24 frames per second of cinema. The footage shows rituals on the sacred Sulaiman Too mountain, with images fading in and out to emphasise both what is seen and unseen.
Another work, Melted Into the Sun, explores the story of the 8th-century prophet Al-Muqanna through lyrical, ASMR-like narration and video game aesthetics. It poses universal questions about the construction of geography and identity, while Swan Lake compiles footage from 28 films made in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan between 1988 and 2001, capturing the turbulence of the post-Soviet era with scenes of beauty, violence, and protest.
The exhibition also references Soviet-era hypnosis, including an excerpt from a 1989 broadcast by hypnotist Anatoly Kashpirovsky, who attempted mass mind control to shore up the crumbling regime. Ismailova’s work critiques such manipulation while acknowledging the power of psychic space. Rich with imagery of fire, ice, and desert winds, As We Fade is a mesmerising, unsettling journey that lingers long after leaving the gallery.
