urun rembuk – Saodat Ismailova: ARAL. Fishing in an Invisible Sea, 2004

On November 5, 2021, documenta fifteen hosted the panel discussion urun rembuk – thinking and acting on sustainability, where urun rembuk can be translated as “achieving something together”, at ruruHaus. With this conversation, documenta fifteen linked its sustainability efforts to artistic approaches and highlighted an overarching, shared interest in preserving a healthy environment, promoting social equality, and strengthening social and economic ecosystems.

More than previous documenta exhibitions, documenta fifteen places a particular emphasis on sustainability. The focus is cultivated by the artistic practice of lumbung, which ruangrupa has based the upcoming edition of documenta on. Drawing on a holistic understanding of sustainability, lumbung brings together its social and ecological dimensions as the foundation for all organizational and artistic actions within the framework of documenta fifteen.

During urun rembuk, the “Sustainability Euro” included in the documenta fifteen ticket was introduced, as well as the international and local partners and projects involved. The panel discussion was complemented by a selection of artistic interventions by lumbung artists Saodat Ismailova, Nguyen Trinh Thi and Pınar Öğrenci and the lumbung members Más Arte Más Acción and INLAND.

In this video, lumbung artist Saodat Ismailova shows excerpts from her filmic documentary ARAL. Fishing in an Invisible Sea, realized together with Carlos Casas in 2004, which introduces three remaining generations of fishers on the Aral Sea and their daily struggle for survival in one of the most barren places on Earth.

Here, you can find more info about urun rembuk.