Combining the ruins of a stone house built more than 60 years ago in Deren Soum and the dead branches of elm trees collected from Khailaast Valley, Mongolian artist Amarsaikhan Namsraijav has created his amazing site-specific installation entitled “A Memory of Nature” as a part of Nomad Spirit 2024 International Program held in Deren Soum of Dundgovi Province from September 21 to October 2, 2024. Artist Amarsaikhan explains, “I created this installation to bring another life to this abandoned ruin and lifeless twigs, to remind people that everything in this universe has its own memory, soul and the beauty.
Recognized for his large-scale installations created using natural elements such as mud, earth, and dead branches of wood, artist Amarsaikhan Namsraijav’s conceptual practice addresses vanishing cultures and wisdom of nomads, who lived in harmony with nature, having minimal consumption and self-sustainable lifestyle. Grew up in a traditional nomadic environment, artist Amarsaikhan initiated the Nomadic Art Project in 2009 and started working mostly in nature, mastering the skills of transforming waste materials into huge installations that amplify nature and resemble a nomadic lifestyle. Amarsaikhan has been participating in various international exhibitions and festivals held in South Korea, India, Japan, China, Mongolia, Italy, France, Hungary, Taiwan, Croatia, and in nearly 20 international residency programs in Finland, France, Italy, Hungary, Korea, Taiwan, India, the USA, Japan, and Mongolia. For his exceptional environmental art projects, artist Amarsaikhan received the Samu Geza Dij Award from the Hungarian Academy of Arts; the Leading Cultural Worker of Mongolia Medal from the Ministry of Culture; the Prize of Union of Mongolian Artists, Mongolia; the Austronesian International Arts Award by Taitung Art Museum, Taiwan; Grant by Kuan Shu Education Foundation for Environmental Art Project, Taiwan; Rubin Fellowships for Himalayan Artists, NY, USA.
Funded by EUNIC, the Nomad Spirit – International Program was initiated by EUNIC Mongolia and its implementing members, the Alliance Française Oulan-Bator, the Austrian Embassy in Beijing, the Finnish Embassy in Beijing, and the Goethe-Institut Mongolia with the support of the EU Delegation to Mongolia with aim to raise public awareness of climate change through contemporary artistic practices, the program brought together over 260 participants, including 8 artists from 5 different countries, as well as local schoolchildren, residents, administrators, and visitors from Ulaanbaatar. The program was implemented by the Mongolian Contemporary Art Support Association and its affiliate Nomadic Red Corner International Residency and Deren Soum administration and secondary school.
*EUNIC — European Union National Institutes for Culture — is Europe’s network of national cultural institutes and organisations, with 39 members from all EU member states and associated countries. EUNIC Mongolia aims to develop strong and sustainable ties between cultural stakeholders in the European Union and Mongolia by engaging in activities that are driven by the global challenges we have to respond to together.
