The Uzbekistan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, curated around the figure of author Allayar Darmenov, brings together artists including Vyacheslav Akhunov, Zi Kakhramonova, A. A. Murakami, Zulfiya Spowart, and Nguyen Phuong Linh to explore the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea. Once the world's fourth-largest lake, it was drained by Soviet irrigation projects for cotton farming; the pavilion's installations—such as Kakhramonova's participatory salt-fish molding piece and Spowart's cradle-like sculpture—imaginatively revive the vanished sea and its endemic species.
This pavilion matters because it uses contemporary art to address a catastrophic environmental event with global resonance, demonstrating how cultural institutions can engage with climate change and ecological loss. By centering local voices from Uzbekistan and the Karakalpakstan region alongside international artists, the exhibition offers a model for transnational, hopeful storytelling about environmental recovery, while also spotlighting Uzbekistan's growing presence on the international art stage.