Everyday over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting the shortlisted artists for The 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize – the 18th edition of Asia’s most prestigious prize for contemporary artists. Selected from over 400 entries, the finalists hail from 16 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific. Of the artists, 27 are new to The Prize – appearing in our shortlist for the first time. Read on to discover more about our finalists, their key points of inspiration, and why it is important to champion the work of artists from Asia-Pacific.  

Dilyara Kaipova (Uzbekistan) was shortlisted for her work Yellow Steppe Danger Signs, evoking a conversation between ancient heritage and recent history. Locating the intersection between folk artisan traditions and contemporaneity, the artist designs original patterns and produces her ‘Ikat’ fabrics in collaboration with traditional masters.

How did you initially start creating art using Ikat fabrics?

Patterns are just everywhere in our country — on clothes, some furniture, carpets, they’re put on buildings out and inside, they’re being used everywhere and there is a lot of them and they’re very diverse. I’ve always wanted to understand the underlying meaning of them — you cannot always see it at first glance, and I also wanted to try to change the structure of the pattern. I got an opportunity to do so and chose clothes patterns exactly. It was in 2015 and I was sure that I would do this experiment just once.

What was the inspiration behind this particular work, and the rendering of nuclear signage?

I was born in the USSR and we used to be told a lot about the threat of nuclear war, we had special classes at school where they explained the basics of the military to us and how to save ourselves when under a chemical or a nuclear threat like explosions, bombs etc. Later Chernobyl happened and a nuclear attack threat from North Korea not too long since, plans on building atomic electrical stations in our region appeared. I think that this danger always follows humans, and in 2022 it got more real than ever before.

You are The Prize’s first ever finalist from Uzbekistan – congratulations! What do you hope to communicate about Uzbek history and culture through your work?

Thank you for congratulating, I’m really happy to be one of the finalists! Uzbekistan’s culture really has roots going back years, it has a very rich and interesting history, a place where different cultures, religions, technologies and knowledge unite. Local textile has changed over the centuries but has saved many traditions, it’s always had a trace of time in it, it’s archaic and very modern at the same time. I try to consider the problems that I and other people worry about through these ancient technologies. They can perfectly put in any of the relevant modern things and be interesting for modern people.

How important is it to support artists from Asia-Pacific?

Supporting is always important for the artists, we’re not defended from many problems, we often need to get through some hard issues. I think that the art of Asia and the Pacific Ocean region also needs more supporting to develop without loading its cultural features, for it to become more complex and deep, for it to unite people.

To vote for Kaipova’s work, click here. The most popular finalist will receive the Public Vote Prize and USD1000.

To register interest in purchasing Kaipova’s artwork, click here. Artwork sales will be launched in person and online during Art Central, from 26 – 29 May 2022. Proceeds will be spilt equally between the artist and our charitable programmes.

Want to learn about our other finalists? Tune in tomorrow for our next interview. To read previous artists’ interviews, click here.